


The Imagination Ship

by Crossovers_and_Randomness



Series: Beyond the Universe [6]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Character Death, Experiments, Gen, Minor Character Death, Pain, Science Fiction, Spaceships, laboratory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 25,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24063394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crossovers_and_Randomness/pseuds/Crossovers_and_Randomness
Summary: The Doctor and Rey land on the S.S. Mariana, a spaceship orbiting Earth. But when Rey is marched away by a robot claiming she is a "new recruit," they discover that the Mariana holds a terrible secret-one that could destroy the ship itself.
Series: Beyond the Universe [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1734793
Kudos: 5





	1. Part 1 Prologue

Rey sat cross-legged in the corner of the TARDIS console room, a mess of white flowers and a large flowerpot in front of her. She worked her finger into the dirt, making a small hole, and gently set a single, small white flower in place, smoothing the dirt back over its stem. A smile played about the corners of her lips as visions of turning her room into a garden flitted through her mind.

The TARDIS settled into place with a slight thump and she looked up, tucking a flower behind her ear. “Where are we now?”

“No idea.” The Doctor grinned, leaning against the console, arms crossed. 

“No…idea….” Of course. What was that he had said about not _driving_ the TARDIS, just giving her a nudge and letting her go where she wished? 

“Nope!” The Doctor grinned and bounded over to her, holding out a hand. “How about we take a look?”

She stood without taking the offered hand and reached for her staff, slipping it into its holster at her back. She returned his grin and started for the door. 

Anything could be out there. _Anything._

His excitement was infectious…

She grinned. It wasn’t like she minded. 

She slipped the door open and stepped out just as the Doctor stepped to her side. He peered over her shoulder, bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

A long, white hallway stretched away before them.

He blinked. “Well. That’s boring. Never liked boring white hallways. Maybe we should—”

“THE NEW RECRUIT HAS ARRIVED.”

The voice blared down the hallway and Rey started, her hand flying to her staff. BB8 let out a startled beep and retreated back into the TARDIS as a large, hulking droid stomped down the hallway toward them.

A grin spread over the Doctor’s face. “That’s slightly less boring.” 


	2. Part 1 Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAAAY YOU GET TO MEET IRENA

The droid stopped just before the TARDIS and a red beam scanned across them with a whirring sound. The Doctor grinned and waved.

“Hello! Care to tell us where we are and what you’re doing here?”

“HUMAN, NONHUMAN, ROBOT. SHIP UNIDENTIFIED.” The droid’s voice seemed to echo all the way down the hallway. “THE HUMAN WILL FOLLOW ME.”

“The human will do what she wants.” Rey slipped the staff from her holster and stepped back, evaluating for weak points. If she shoved the staff into the mess of wires on its chest, perhaps—

The droid reached forward, grabbed the staff, and snapped it in half between its fingers before Rey could react.

“That’s my staff!” she cried indignantly. “You took my staff!” She edged back into the TARDIS, searching for anything she could use as a weapon.

“Yeah, don’t take her staff.” The Doctor’s hand edged toward his pocket. “It tends to make her really mad.” 

The droid reached forward and clamped its metal fingers around her arm. 

“THE HUMAN WILL FOLLOW ME.” It started forward, dragging her across the white floor.

She struggled, but the droid only tightened its grip. “THERE IS NO NEED TO RESIST.” The voice seemed to boom directly in her ear and she winced.

“Could you maybe turn that down or something?” She fell into step beside the large robot. It was best to simply follow directions at the moment while she looked for escape routes. “You’re hurting my ears.”

“COMMAND NOT UNDERSTOOD.”

She huffed a sigh. Well, she’d just have to put up with it. And possibly try to get some information out of it while she was at it. 

“Where am I?”

“YOU ARE ON BOARD THE S.S. MARIANA.” 

Okay, progress. S.S. Mariana. _Sounds like a ship._

“And where is this S.S. Mariana?” 

“IN SPACE.”

She blinked.

Well, this wasn’t getting her much of anywhere.

“Where…in space?”

“THE S.S. MARIANA IS CURRENTLY ROTATING EARTH.” 

Even more progress. She knew where she was, at least. Now for a different tack. “And why—”

The droid stopped and turned mechanically, shoving her forward into a small room. “WE HAVE ARRIVED. WAIT HERE.” It turned away, closing the door behind it with a click.

She blinked. “Okay….” She stepped forward, reaching for the doorknob. It didn’t turn. Of course. She was locked in.

She turned her back to the door and took in her new surroundings. She seemed to be sitting in some sort of medical examination room, with a table just large enough for a person to lay down on, a few chairs, and some odd-looking devices in the corner. No cabinets, no tools, nothing she could use to pick the lock. 

She moved toward the devices. One seemed to be a scanner, another had a display screen and a keyboard and appeared to be some sort of computer. She brushed her fingers across the keyboard as if she could sense its inner workings. Were there records in there? Something she could use to figure out how to escape?

A noise at the door, and she jumped away from the computer, her hand flying for her staff and her fingers closing on nothing. 

The door slid open and a woman stepped inside. She looked to be in her mid-thirties and wore an impeccable white lab coat, blonde hair pulled back into a sharp ponytail, heels clicking on the tiled floor. 

“I’m Irena Langston. I assume you’ve been waiting for me.” She didn’t even seem to notice Rey’s startled reaction as she closed the door and stepped past her, reaching for one of the devices. “Now, I’m going to have to scan you. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt. Sometimes the unknown devices can look a bit ominous to the new recruits.” She smiled, but Rey wasn’t sure if it was genuine or a pasted-on customer-service smile. 

She flicked a few buttons on the device, and a blue beam ran over Rey, like a hologram. Rey tensed, expecting some kind of tingle or odd sensation, but before she could even take a breath, the woman had turned off the device and hung it back on the wall with a click. 

“Perfect. 19, fully human, in good physical condition with no defects or disabilities. Name please?”

“I’m—I’m Rey, ma’am.”

“Full name, please.”

Rey blinked.

 _Full_ name?

She stopped herself before _I’m just Rey_ slipped out. Did everyone have more than one name here? Would the woman think she was lying? What did they do to liars? Yeah, that wasn’t an option. She needed to come up with another name, and quick. 

Name, name, name. What sort of names did they have here? She ran through every name she could possibly remember. Blake, Wood, Lancaster, Skywalker….her cheeks warmed a little at the last two. Silly, silly, silly, stupid.

Smith.

The Doctor had introduced himself as John Smith once.

“Smith,” she blurted. “Rey Smith.”

“Perfect.” The woman turned to the computer-like device and tapped a key. The screen started up and her fingers flew across the keyboard. With a whirr, a small, thin piece of plastic emerged from the side of the monitor.

“Hold out your hand.” Irena pulled out the plastic strip and turned to Rey. 

Rey hesitated.

Irena laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m just putting an armband on you. It’ll be your identification so you can get into the lab. Wrist please.” 

Slowly, Rey held out her hand.

Irena snapped the plastic band around her wrist and Rey saw that it had her name and some numbers printed on it. 

“Alright, now that we’re set, I’m going to take you down to the lab. I don’t have official clearance so you’ll have to meet the scientists yourself, but you don’t seem like the type to be too shy about that. They’re really quite nice, I’m sure you’ll like them.” She stepped to the door. “Come with me.”

“Ma’am?” Rey frowned. “Where are we going?”

Irena turned, one eyebrow raised. “You mean they didn’t brief you? Oh dear, they’re getting worse and worse about that with every new recruit.” She sighed and stepped into the hallway. “Well, I suppose I’ll have to do it on the way there. Come along.” 

Rey hesitated, then followed. The woman seemed trustworthy enough, if a bit stiff. Maybe she could get some information out of her.

Irena started down the hallway. “Where are you from, then? Earth, I assume?”

“Um….no, actually. Jakku.”

“Jakku? Don’t believe I’ve heard of it.”

“Yeah, nobody has.” Rey scanned her surroundings as they walked. Same white hallways, impeccable tiled floors. She almost felt as if she were tracking dirt behind her with every step. “It’s off in the middle of nowhere.” 

“Well, that would certainly explain why you weren’t briefed, then. How much did they tell you?”

“Tell me?”

“Goodness, did they just drop you here without a word of explanation? It’s a wonder you’re not terrified for your life.” She sighed. “Well, it seems I have quite a bit of explaining to do. First of all, you’re on the S.S. Mariana, the largest ship in Earth’s orbit. I suppose you haven’t heard of it, seeing as you’re from this Jakku place. Anyway, we have a team of top-level scientists here, experimenting with a new invention. The majority of the new recruits go to the lab.”

Rey swallowed. The woman had said it with such cool unconcern. Was she being delivered into the hands of some kind of dastardly evil scientists like she’d heard about in stories? A thousand horrible possibilities flitted through her mind and she glanced around. Could she take Irena or was the woman more than she appeared? 

“Ah, that usually scares people.” Irena laughed a tinkling, clipped laugh. “They’re no mad scientists. You’ll be given the choice to either stay or leave after you’ve served your purpose. Some like the job so much they decide to stay and become full-time manufacturers. Some decide it isn’t for them. It’ll be your choice.”

Rey narrowed her eyes, searching Irena’s face for signs of deception. She seemed sincere enough, but…

“What exactly will I be doing?” Her voice was tight, guarded.

“Getting there.” Irena stopped at a door and pressed a button. It slid open and she stepped inside. Rey watched Irena’s hands as she pressed a button and the doors closed. Standard elevator, nothing more. At least, that’s what it seemed.

But she couldn’t be too careful.

“It’s a new-ish invention of Dr. Rodrin—he’s the one conducting the experiments. We like to call in the Imagination Machine. I think the name’s a bit stylized but the young people seem to like it.” Her tone was half genuine and half condescending and Rey wasn’t sure whether to smile or shout at her.

_And just how old are you, Ms. Langston?_

“Essentially, it takes schematics from your mind, eliminating the necessity of drawing it out. It is equipped with a wide variety of supplies and materials, which then assemble the object from the schematic which it read. You might want to start thinking of something now, as it has to be rather precise.”

Rey frowned. “So all I’m doing is…”

“Yes. Simply thinking of something you know how to make and allowing the machine to read it from your mind.”

Rey blinked.

Okay.

Well, this could be interesting.

She could make herself a new staff. Or some handy multi-tool or a sonic screwdriver like the Doctor. Or—

A wild, impossible idea flitted through her mind and she nearly gasped at the audacity of it. No, that was stupid, impossible, she didn’t dare. But—

Irena turned to her with a smile. “Ah, there we go. See, it’s rather fun, isn’t it?” The elevator slid to a stop and the doors opened. Together they stepped out into another white hallway. “The lab is the second door on the right. Just show them your wristband and they’ll let you in. Good luck.” She turned back, pressing the button again.

Rey opened her mouth to speak, and closed it again. Of course Irena wasn’t accompanying her. She had said she didn’t have official clearance. Well—it wasn’t like it mattered.

She was alone and weaponless on a strange ship. And she was going to meet a team of scientists who were going to perform an experiment on her.

She could handle this.

She took a deep breath and started down the hallway. 


	3. Part 1 Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *bounces excitedly* Nowww you get to meet Dr.’s Rodrin and Maryn. Eeeee

“Hello, and welcome to the lab. I’m Dr. Rodrin. May I see your armband please?”

Rey stood in the doorway of an white-walled, severely-organized room. Parts and tools and bottles of various chemicals lined the shelves, both familiar and unfamiliar. Charts and scribbled notes were piled along one wall, and a drawer stood slightly open, revealing file folders filled with records. A half-closed door on the opposite wall belied another wing. Not a spot or a speck of dust marred the white tile floor.

Once again, she felt as if she were tracking dirt behind her.

The man who spoke was young but approaching middle age, probably in his thirties. He wore a stark-white lab coat over a dark suit of some sort. His brown hair was short and perfectly combed, and his dark eyes held a glint to them that Rey didn’t quite like—but his smile was friendly enough.

She held out her hand.

He glanced over the wristband and turned around. “Perfect, new recruit. This way please.”

After a moment of slight hesitation, she followed him through the lab. He led her to the far door, slipped it open, and stepped through, motioning for her to follow.

The room was a mess of wires, tools, and stacks of materials. 

In the center sat a chair, wires extending from it to various devices. Rey froze in the doorway, images of some strange torture device flitting through her mind. 

He smiled a cool, businesslike smile. “Don’t worry, it’s not as frightening as it looks. I assume Ms. Langston has briefed you on what you’ll be doing here?”

She nodded slowly, still looking around the room, taking everything in. “Yes. I’m supposed to make something. With my mind.”

Well that had come out…oddly.

He nodded. “Perfect. Sit down, please.” He nodded to the chair and then turned. “Dr. Maryn!”

Rey stepped hesitantly over to the chair and slid into the seat. Well, it wasn’t the uncomfortable, hard seat she had expected. In fact, it was soft and almost relaxing. 

“Hands on the arms of the chair, please.” He turned away, stepping in front of a computer screen mounted on the far wall.

She hesitated, then obeyed.

A pair of handcuffs slid over her wrists, locking her arms in place.

She tensed. “Why are you locking me in?”

“No worries, dear.” A woman entered, also wearing an impeccable white lab coat, her dark-blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. “It’s only a safety precaution.”

“Against what? Me running away?” She leveled a glare at the woman. “I thought Ms. Langston said—”

“Yes, yes, of course it’s your choice but sometimes the process can be a bit disorienting, so we need to make certain you don’t fall off the chair and hurt yourself.”

“Seatbelt would’ve been better,” she muttered, but neither one of them seemed to hear her. 

A helmet descended from the top of the chair and settled itself over her head, cool metal probes pressing gently against her temples. An image flickered across the front screen of the helmet—Dr. Rodrin’s face. 

“Hello, you’re all set up except for one little thing,” he said. Though it was only a projection, Rey could almost feel his breath on her face. “I’m sorry, but this might hurt a bit.” The metal probes pressed tighter against her temples—and white-hot pain blasted through her head.

She let out a cry and strained against the handcuffs. The pain faded like a burst of light and she was left gasping, slumping a little in the chair. 

The face appeared in her helmet again. “I’m terribly sorry, but it’s part of the process. The machine has to be able to interpret the brainwaves in order to read the schematic. How are you feeling?”

Rey gasped in a sharp breath. The pain had faded entirely now, and she felt…normal? 

She blinked.

“Fine?” she squeaked.

“Perfect. I know it’s a bit disorienting. Are you able to think straight?”

She closed her eyes, focusing. “Um. Yes?”

“Good. I’ll give you a minute or two to get the schematic in your mind. I’m assuming you’re thinking of something specific. Be as precise as you can, please. Tell me when you’re ready.”

The image flickered out and her helmet went dark. 

Rey closed her eyes and focused. No matter what happened next, at least she could enjoy this. She had always loved putting together parts and pieces and making something handy. This—this would be more than handy.

A smile quirked at her lips.

She had seen a schematic of a lightsaber once.

Years ago, rifling through files on an ancient X-Wing fighter. She brought the image to her mind, tracing out every part and switch, focusing especially on the crystal. Power cell, stabilizers, crystals, crystals, crystals. The crystals were crucial. She had the switches, the wires, the—

Blast it.

She clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut, focusing as hard as she could. She was missing a connection somewhere, she could just _feel_ it. It had been years since she’d seen that diagram. She could figure it out, right? Just a wire there to hook in the stabilizer—stabilizer was just about as crucial as the crystal, she didn’t want the thing exploding on her—and a switch there, and—

“Ready.”

The probes pressed down lightly on her temples.

“It’s reading now—focus!” Dr. Rodrin shouted.

She closed her eyes and focused.

Switch, crystal, stabilizer, casing. The mental image slipped and she let out a little frustrated noise and forced herself to refocus, watching each part drop into place like a puzzle.

There was a clatter, and the probes withdrew, the helmet sliding away from her face. 

The man stood before her, holding a small cylindrical object.

A grin quirked at her lips. It was a lightsaber. She had made herself a lightsaber!

She reached forward to grab it, turn it over in her hands and feel it, but the cuffs stopped her. She huffed.

The woman—Dr. Maryn, Rey assumed—came up behind Dr. Rodrin and stared at the object. “What the blazes is _that?”_ she snapped.

“It’s a lightsaber.” Rey couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice. “The button, right there—careful, it has a blade—”

The man hovered his finger over the button for a moment before pressing it.

The blade blasted out of the hilt with a sizzling whoosh, shining pure white. 

Rey couldn’t help a gasp. She had never seen one in person before!

A slow smile spread across the man’s face and he twirled the blade about before. “Perfect. Even better than I expected.” He pressed the button again and the blade retracted. “Maryn, look at this. Look what she made us!” 

Rey tensed. What was he saying? She didn’t like the way his eyes glinted, the way his smile had turned from friendly to icy in an instant. She didn’t like—

He pressed the hilt against her chest, his finger hovering over the button.

“That’s handy,” he said with a cold smile. “You made us a weapon.” 


	4. Part 1 Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eee I love writing from the Doctor’s POV

Before the Doctor could protest, Rey was gone.

For a moment he just stood there, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. “Rey…” But she was already halfway down the hallway, the robot’s metal hand clasping her arm. 

His gaze darkened. “Oh no you don’t,” he muttered before taking off after the robot.

He skidded to a stop as the hallway turned a corner and branched off in two directions. A quick scan of the area yielded no signs, no signals, nothing. He paused. Both hallways were the same. 

He looked back and forth again before starting down the left hallway. He could always turn back and hey, it couldn’t hurt to see a little bit of the ship while he was at it. 

“Rey?” His voice echoed off down the empty hallway.

Wonderful idea. Draw attention to himself.

Well, maybe they’d send guards. And he could ask the guards where Rey was. Yeah, that was good. He’d go with that. Always hope for the best possible outcome, right?

He scanned the hallway as he walked. The ship looked like a hospital, with white walls and white tile scrubbed perfectly clean. No variation, no decorations.

Who could live in a place like this?

Apparently, not very many people, as the whole place seemed rather abandoned at the moment.

“Rey?”

Again, echoes.

The hallway turned a corner and he saw a few doors. Finally, some variation. Stopping at the first door, he tried the handle.

Of course. Locked.

He tried the next one.

Locked.

And so was the next one, and the next one. 

Well, that was to be expected. Anyone with any sense would keep their doors locked in case people like him came along. He pulled the sonic from his pocket and pressed it to the lock.

It wobbled, and then went out.

He raised an eyebrow. Deadlocked? Well, that was new. Whatever was behind that door must be pretty important. Or were all the doors like this? Did they have some sort of lock that was resistant to sonic screwdrivers? 

Wonderful.

He dropped to a crouch in front of the lock, slipping on his glasses. There had to be a way to hack into the locks if he could just—

“Oh. Ooooh.” He jumped to his feet, grinning as the idea flashed through him. Identification! Obviously these doors didn’t open to just _anyone._ Fishing around in his pockets, he retrieved the psychic paper. If he could just flash the right form of ID, it might just let him in…

That was a bit of a problem, there. Finding the right form of ID. 

What year was it again?

He tapped his fingers against his leg, thinking. He could go back to the TARDIS, surely he could figure out the year from there, although the coordinates weren’t always accurate…he could try to get into a database or something like that…he began to pace. Flashing the wrong form of ID could get the alarms set off…which…

Which could be a good thing…

It was worth a try. He flipped the wallet open and scanned the ID across the door handle.

Nothing.

No alarms, no beep, no click of an opening lock. He tried the door again—still locked. 

This wasn’t getting him anywhere—

Footsteps echoed down the hallway. He whirled, a grin spreading across his face. _Now_ he was getting somewhere! Two figures marched around the corner, helmets drawn over their faces. Guards? Had he set off an alarm somewhere?

That was quick.

Their movements belied either humans, humanoids, or some very realistic robots. But something about them seemed alive, and he knew a robot when he saw one.

 _Guess I’m a good enough threat for them to send real humans._ He smirked. Always wanted to be the biggest threat. Great honor, that.

The two guards came to a stop in front of him. The taller one pulled back his helmet to reveal a surprisingly friendly face, though his lips turned downward at the corners. 

“So you’re the one who tried to hack into the admission system. Can we see that ID you tried to use, sir?”

The Doctor grinned and held out the psychic paper. “Doctor John Smith sir. Pleasure to meet you.” 

The man frowned and took it. After looking at it for a long moment, he handed it back. “Well, this seems to be a legitimate form of identification, Dr. Smith. I’m not quite sure what went wrong, but I’m terribly sorry. May I ask what sort of doctor you are?”

“Oh, that’d be a scientist.” He raised an eyebrow and gave a half-grin. “Here to report for whatever you need me for.” 

Very specific, that. When in doubt, always be vague. 

“Oh, you’re new to the team?” The other guard pushed back her helmet. “Well, welcome, Doctor Smith.” She held out a hand. “I suppose you were trying to find the lab?”

The Doctor grinned. “The lab! Yes, that’d be exactly where I was going. Where’s the lab?”

“You’re about two floors off.” The woman turned and motioned for the Doctor to follow. “I’m sorry you weren’t given a better map of the ship before you arrived. If you go down to the end of this hallway, there’s a lift. Go down to the second floor and there’ll be signs directing you to the lab. I’ll be certain I get your ID keyed into the system so you can get in. I’m terribly sorry about that.” 

The Doctor grinned and held out a hand. “Thank you ma’am.”

She shook his hand with a smile. “Good luck, Doctor.”

* * *

The Doctor strolled down the hallway. Lined with white tiles and impeccable walls, it seemed a copy of the upper level, but at least this one had clearly marked signs leading to the lab. He came to a stop in front of the door and just stood there for a moment. 

Did one simply go up to the door of a lab and knock?

The psychic paper hadn’t worked last time. And he wasn’t about to set off another alarm, not now, not when he had the opportunity to do a little undercover investigation. 

He knocked.

“Name and reason for entering please.” The woman’s voice sounded distracted and the Doctor pressed his face to the edge of the door to see if he could see the speaker. The door sealed to the wall, leaving no crack.

He huffed and pulled back.

“Dr. John Smith and I’m here to report for whatever scientist-ly duties you might have for me.” He clasped his hands behind his back and bounced on his toes, a grin spreading across his face. A lab on an unknown ship somewhere in what his humans often called the future—oh, this was brilliant.

The door muffled the woman’s sharp curse. He heard footsteps, and a man’s voice. After a moment of muffled whispering, the footsteps approached the door again, and it unlocked.

A woman stood in the doorway, her dark-blonde hair pulled into a sharp ponytail, her lab coat impeccable. Her eyes seemed to shoot fire and the Doctor wondered if that was her normal mode of existence.

“Welcome to the lab, Dr. Smith. We’re currently in the middle of a rather important experiment so if you could wait out here for a moment…” Her voice was clipped, and there was something in it he didn’t quite like.

A sudden, horrible idea seared through him. New recruits…humans…important experiments…he shoved past her, pushing away her attempts to grab him. He strode through the lab at an almost-run, following the sounds of movement. Bursting through the door at the far side of the room, he skidded to a stop.

Rey sat in a chair surrounded by tools and wires, her hands cuffed to the arms. And a man stood before her, a white blade of pure laser energy sizzling from an odd cylindrical device in his hand. And the blade was pointed at Rey’s heart. 


	5. Part 1 Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Dr. Maryn did The Thing…I tried to stop her, but she insisted….

“Oh no you don’t!” The Doctor had whipped out his sonic in an instant, sending in the direction of the sizzling laser blade. “You don’t touch her!”

The blade retracted and the man turned on him, eyes dark. “If you’re here to assist I suggest you do just that.” His finger moved to a button on the hilt and the blade ignited again as he approached the Doctor.

The Doctor backed up a step, holding up both hands. “I’ve got a _lot_ more in this jacket than you want to know,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “And I can take down this entire lab—”

A screech echoed through the lab and a large round projectile flew out of nowhere, slamming into the scientist’s legs. He stumbled backward, dropping the laser blade with a rather undignified yelp. The Doctor darted forward and pressed the sonic to the cuffs at Rey’s wrists. 

They retracted and Rey jumped to her feet, lunging for the hilt of the laser blade, now just a black cylinder on the floor. She snatched it and faced the two scientists who stood in the doorway, staring down at the little round droid at their feet.

A metal rod protruded from BB8’s side, sizzling with electricity, and he looked up at the pair with as much venom as he possibly could. If the single black eye could have shot daggers, it would have.

A little smirk twitched at the Doctor’s lips. Good old BB8.

At his side, Rey ignited the lightsaber. “The droid can hurt you,” she said, her voice hot. “And I’ve got a lightsaber, so not a step closer.” 

“How did you get access to this ship?” The man’s lip curled in a sneer. “You’re no scientist and certainly not part of our team.”

“How’d I get access?” He raised an eyebrow. “Because I’m the Doctor. Next.”

The woman crossed her arms. “Doctor who?”

“Doctor John Smith and yes, I was sent here to join your team until I discovered you trying to kill Rey.” His gaze darkened. “I don’t work with scientists who kill people for experiments. Especially not her.”

“Smith, sir?” The man frowned. “You said your name was Smith? And you know her?”

“Of course I know her, she’s been my faithful companion since…time is weird and I don’t care!” He raked his fingers through his hair, making it stick out in all directions. “And you had a lightsaber to her heart—”

In an instant, the man shifted from dark to polite. “I’m terribly sorry, sir. I must offer my sincerest apologies. If I had had any idea that she was the wife of our future partner, I would not have recruited her for—this particular experiment.”

The woman’s glare deepened and she crossed her arms. 

Obviously _she_ didn’t agree—wait, wife?

The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, then closed it and glanced at Rey. Their eyes met and she took a slight breath as if preparing a response, but then let it out.

Honestly, it wasn’t worth correcting.

Not when they had a pair of mad scientists to escape. 

“And now you suddenly care?” He edged toward the door. “Oh, you didn’t care before, not when she was just some random test subject. But now that she’s somebody _important,_ oh, now you care.” He stepped past them, shoving the man aside. “I don’t care what kind of operation you’ve got here, I’m not interested. Come on, Rey. We’re leaving.” He reached for her hand, starting for the door.

She retracted the blade and followed, shooting a sharp glare at the pair of scientists. BB8 bounced along behind them. 

The scientists made no move to follow.

The Doctor stopped. “Oh, you’re just gonna make it easy on us, huh? Now, that seems out of character.” He took another deliberate step toward the door. “Is there—oh. Ohhh.” He stopped again, his hands stuffed in his pockets, one eyebrow raised. “Is there a guard out there, just waiting to ambush us while you laugh yourselves silly over our naivety?” He glanced at the door, then back to Rey.

Her hand tightened on the lightsaber, one finger on the button. Ready to draw. 

“I can assure you, sir, since you were brought here to be our assistant, you have full access to the base. As long as you show you ID, the guards will stay away from you. Would you like an escort—”

“Oh no, I think I’ll show myself around a bit.” He reached for the door and edged it open, ready to run.

Nothing.

Just an empty hallway.

“Very well, sir.” The man nodded politely. “I do hope—”

“Yes. Good day.” He grabbed Rey’s hand and marched out the door, slamming it closed behind him.

“Run,” he hissed, and then they were running, skidding around one corner and then another, BB8 bumping along behind them with a few frustrated beeps. When they had put enough of a maze behind them, they skidded to a stop, gasping.

“Your _wife?”_ Rey steadied herself on the wall and glared up at him. “Really?” 

“What was I supposed to do? Protest that no, we definitely weren’t married and it was a total coincidence that we just happened to have the same last name and know each other? Talk about blowing our cover?”

“Did we even have any cover to begin with?” She glanced around. “We’ve gotta get out of here, that was too easy—”

Footsteps echoed down the hallway and they both turned.

“Case in point,” Rey muttered.

Irena stepped around a corner and stopped at the end of the hallway. “By order of the Commander, you are to come with me,” she said. 


	6. Part 1 Chapter 5

“Run.”

The Doctor grabbed her hand and then they were running, twisting and turning around corner after corner until Rey thought they were hopelessly lost in the maze of identical white hallways. She could hear the clank of metal on tile behind them and another shout—a woman’s voice—Irena. She turned a corner, slammed into a door, and skidded to a stop.

She grabbed the handle and turned it.

Nothing.

She glanced at the Doctor and he pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket. With a shake of her head, she moved her finger to her lightsaber’s button. 

“You’ve got a screwdriver. I’ve got a lightsaber.” She ignited the blade and it sizzled through the lock, the smell of melted metal filling the hallway. The door drifted open.

The Doctor grinned and shoved the door open. They darted through, closed it behind them, and—

“I think I’m beginning to see a problem with this plan.” He raised an eyebrow and glanced at the now un-lockable door.

“Right. Yeah. Run.” She grabbed his hand again and they turned another corner, and another, shouting and metal stomping and mechanical voices echoing down the hallways behind them. 

She skidded to a stop at the end of a hallway. “Droids can keep going.” She glanced back down the hallway. “We can’t. We’ve got to come up with some kind of—” She glanced around. Button. There, on the wall behind her. A door—she slammed the button and the elevator doors opened.

Grabbing the Doctor by the arm, she dragged him inside, BB8 bumping inside after her just as the doors closed again. “Somewhere, anywhere,” she muttered, slamming a random button. The elevator slid downward and she leaned against the wall, gasping. 

“We’ve gotta get out of here,” she panted. “They’ll just keep chasing us unless we can—”

“And leave the team of scientists to keep killing people?”

She blinked.

“What?”

“We can’t just run off!” The Doctor paced, one step across the small space, and another back. “We know there’s a pair of scientists, _on this ship,_ killing people for experiments. And you expect us to just run off?”

“Well….” She frowned. He had a point. “Get back to the TARDIS at least? Regroup?” 

“Yeah.” The Doctor paced again, his brow furrowing in frustration as the wall stopped him and he had to turn and pace back. “You’ve got to tell me everything. Every detail. We need to figure out _why_ they’re doing what they’re doing, that’s the key.” The elevator stopped and the doors slid open. He stepped out, hardly seeming to notice. “There’s got to be a _reason._ There’s always a reason.” He skidded to a stop in front of her, one eyebrow raised. “Tell me everything! Every detail!”

She took a deep breath. The guard escorting her down the hallway, Irena Langston, the Imagination Machine, the way she had imagined the schematic for the lightsaber in her mind—she blurted out everything in a long, messy story that she hoped he understood.

“So it’s a machine that makes things from your mind. Oooh, that’s genius. That’s brilliant. But for some reason they want to _kill_ the person who makes it. Now why would they want to do that?” He started to pace again, down the empty, dark hallway. Rey stood by the elevator, ready to hop back in at a moment’s notice. “It has to have something to do with the way the machine works. Something they want to _test._ Now why would they…we need a schematic.” He turned on Rey so suddenly she let out a yelp. “We need to get a schematic of the machine, the way it works, so we can figure out—can BB8 scan for schematics?”

Rey nodded. Yeah, BB8 could get a schematic of the thing…but he was running off on one of his tangents again. And if he was saying what she thought he was….she frowned. “So you’re suggesting we—”

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. Now, if we just send him back into the lab, he can get a snapshot, and we go back to the TARDIS to regroup, examine it, and…” He stepped back onto the elevator. “We need to be nearby though. Somewhere he can find us.”

BB8 tilted his head to the side with a curious beep.

“He’s asking why we’re talking about him when he’s right here,” Rey said dryly.

A grin burst across the Doctor’s face. “Brilliant little thing! C’mere.” He pulled Rey onto the elevator and pressed the button for Level 3. As soon as the doors closed, he dropped to a crouch beside BB8. “Now, you heard what we’re gonna do? You’re going to wander into the lab and take a snapshot of the schematic of that machine. We’ll be nearby. Come find us. Understood?”

BB8 tilted his head to the side with a small beep.

Rey nodded. “He understands.”

The elevator slid upward and came to a stop again, the doors sliding open. BB8 launched out and went rolling down the hallway before Rey could even take a breath.

The Doctor grinned and took off after him.

Rey sighed, and took off after the Doctor.

They wound down a few hallways and turned a few corners before the signs leading to the lab began to appear. Rey scanned the corridor for places to hide. Did this ship have closets for cleaning supplies and the like? If they could just find one of those, they could slip inside and wait for BB8 to bump on the door. They turned a corner and saw the door to the lab at the end of the hallway.

Rey pulled the Doctor to a stop, opening her mouth to explain her plan. She would take off her armband and give it to BB8, who could use it to get inside. Then they would hide—

Footsteps echoed down the hallway, and voices.

Voices she recognized.

She glanced at the Doctor. Their eyes met. 

And they took off at a run toward the lab. 


	7. Part 2 Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehehehehe I had way too much fun with this chapter

“Why exactly are we going _into_ the lab?” Rey scanned her wristband across the lock distractedly as she glanced behind her. The door beeped and opened. “Because that seems like—”

“Because there’s plenty of places to hide.” The Doctor glanced around the lab. “This place is too clean, it’s gotta have a supply—” His eyes darted across the room. “Closet. Now.” He darted forward, threw open a door at the far side of the room, and darted back, grabbed her about the waist and nearly shoved her inside, closing the door just as the two scientists entered.

“You absolute _idiot!_ ” The shout was Dr. Maryn’s. A slamming door, a slap, and a man’s grunt. “We had her right here with the most perfect experimental setup yet and you just _threw it away!”_

Rey edged forward and pressed her eye to the slit between the door and the wall. Dr. Rodrin stood rubbing his cheek. Dr. Maryn stood before him, her arms crossed and her glare shooting daggers. 

“I wasn’t about to anger our new partner! What were we supposed to do, kill his wife in front of him? What good would that do? We don’t need a rival scientist!”

“Get rid of him too, then! Then we can focus on our real experiments—”

“Get rid of him? If he was chosen by the Board, he’s obviously a genius.” His voice was cool and his eyes dark. “I could use another real genius to work with.”

For a moment, Rey thought Maryn would explode. 

“He’s not the type to work with us.” She bit out the words harshly, her words low and controlled but simmering with fury. “If they’re anywhere on this ship we’ve got to catch them, understood? I don’t want them reporting—” 

“Understood? Who’s in charge here, Maryn?”

Her glare deepened. “We’re partners.”

A sneer twisted his lips. “You thought we were partners? That was your mistake.” He turned away, shrugging off his lab coat and reaching for a clean one. “I designed this machine, I made it, and I’m in charge of the experiments. And I say…”

A clang of a shoe hitting metal. A beep.

BB8 rolled out from under the desk.

Rodrin looked down with a glare. “Of all the things you could leave sitting around in here, why did you have to leave this stupid little robot?” He gave BB8 a kick. “Get out, ball.” 

Rey clenched her fists and glared through the keyhole. 

“That’s not my robot!” Maryn crossed her arms. “Oh, but you just blame everything on me, right? Because you can’t bear to admit that your genius self could possibly do anything wrong. Well, let me tell your genius self one thing—that little robot is the one that gave you a nasty bruise on the shin earlier.” A sneer-like smirk twisted her lips. “Surprised you didn’t recognize it, given how smart you are.” 

He narrowed his eyes. “You mean—” His gaze flicked to his leg and Rey smirked a little. Served him right if it still hurt.

“If anything it’s probably spying.” Maryn stepped out of Rey’s line of vision and she pulled back, all senses on high alert. She could hear their voices echoed through the lab. “Watching. Possibly recording. We’ve got to disable this thing.” 

“Take a hammer to it, should work well enough.” Rey could hear the sneer in Rodrin’s voice. A clang of a shoe hitting metal, and electric zap. Rodrin let out an undignified yelp and a curse. “Persistent little thing. Go bounce back to your owners, ball.” 

BB8 didn’t move.

Rey smirked again. 

“Good idea.” Maryn lowered her voice to a low hiss, and Rey could hear their footsteps as they moved farther away. “Plant a tracker on it, send it back to its owners. Finish the experiment. If they’re investigators, they’ve got to go. We both know what would happen if they ran back and tattled…”

A slam of a door, and the voices faded. Rey pressed her face against the doorway again. BB8 sat in the middle of the lab, turning his head this way and that. He rolled forward, bumping his head against the closet door.

She edged it open. “Shh,” she hissed. “You’ll reveal us. Did you…?”

He nodded and let out a soft beep.

She turned back to the Doctor. “He’s got a…” she began. 

The door at the far end of the lab opened, and the two scientists stepped out.


	8. Part 1 Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently BB8 enjoys danger just as much as the Doctor. Who knew?

Rey froze. BB8’s head swiveled toward the pair of scientists, who froze in the doorway. The woman held a small device, probably the tracker they meant to plant on the little droid. 

Rey’s eyes met Maryn’s. 

The Doctor’s head popped out of the closet above Rey. He waved. “Hello.” 

“You’re back,” Rodrin said coolly. “Reconsider?”

“Who cares?” Maryn strode over to the desk and slammed a button. The doors closed and clicked—locked.

Rey edged out of the closet, the Doctor just behind her. Her hand went to her lightsaber, one finger hovering over the button.

“Legally that’s ours, you know.” Rodrin leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. “You signed the agreement. Maryn, take it.”

“I didn’t sign any agreement.” Her grip tightened. “And it’s mine. I made it.”

“Seems you suffer from a case of ‘not reading the terms and conditions.’” He smiled a cold smile. “Maryn—”

“On it,” she snapped, taking a step forward. 

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, his hand slipping to his back pocket. “Not in front of me you don’t—”

Alarms blared through the lab.

Rey started, nearly dropping the lightsaber. “What did you _do?_ ”

“Wasn’t me!” The Doctor looked around, a grin twitching at his lips. “But good timing though, whoever did that—”

Rodrin cursed under his breath. “Maryn, secure—”

“On it.” She stepped away from Rey, reaching for the desk. 

And the floor began to shake.

Rey stumbled forward and slammed onto her knees before she could catch herself. BB8 let out a startled beep as bottles crashed from the shelves and the two scientists began to shout, Maryn’s hand slamming into a button. Rey jumped to her feet and grabbed the Doctor’s hand, yanking him forward.

“They’re distracted,” she hissed. “Get out, now.”

The room convulsed again, sending them both to the floor. BB8 bounced and zigzagged across the room, letting out a beep that sounded suspiciously like _wheeee_ before slamming into the door with a crunch of metal on metal. A small screwdriver popped out of his side and he jumped, letting the shaking floor send him flying upward, slamming the screwdriver into the lock. 

For a moment, he dangled there, and then the screwdriver snapped and he slammed to the floor with a disgruntled beep.

Rey forced herself to her feet, tightening her grip on the lightsaber. The scientists shouted and cursed and Maryn struggled to stay on her feet as she flipped buttons and levers and Rodrin darted to steady bottles and beakers before they smashed off the shelves. Rey and the Doctor leaned on each other as they staggered for the door, steadying each other as the tile cracking beneath their feet.

Rey slammed her lightsaber into the doorknob and ignited it, shoving the door open as the lock melted. They stumble-ran down the shaking hallway, BB8 bouncing behind them, thrown into the air and slammed back onto the floor with each undulation. They skidded around a corner and the Doctor stumbled, sending himself and Rey to the floor piled on top of each other, gasping. BB8 slammed into them with a startled beep.

The shaking slowed and came to a stop.

For a moment, they just lay there, gasping. Rey fought back a wave of queasiness as the world steadied. Slowly, she rolled off of the Doctor and attempted to untangle herself from him. Bits of metal and paint littered the hallway about them and cracks split the tile.

“What now?” Rey rolled into a sitting position and leaned back against the wall. The floor still seemed to sway beneath her and she was certain she’d collapse if she tried to stand. Even sitting, her legs felt wobbly.

“Back to the TARDIS!” The Doctor shook himself and jumped to his feet with a grin. “Regroup, come up with a plan—”

Footsteps echoed down the hallway and he froze. BB8’s head swiveled toward the newcomer as the footsteps approached and turned the corner—

“There you are.” Irena Langston appeared at the head of the hallway once again, flanked by two guards. “I’m afraid I have to ask you to come with me.” 


	9. Part 1 Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Irena, too, does The Thing. The Doctor Who thing. Because sometimes, as a fanfiction writer, I just can’t resist.

Rey leveled a glare at Irena. “I’m not following you anywhere,” she snapped. “And I’ve got a lightsaber.”

Irena raised her hand and snapped her fingers. The two droids that flanked her stepped forward, metal clanking on tile. Rey pressed the button and the lightsaber ignited, the blade shooting out in front of her—and it sizzled, crackled, and fizzled out.

Her fingers tightened on the hilt. 

“And I’ve got a screwdriver.” The Doctor whipped out his sonic and raised an eyebrow. “And mine works!”

Rey glared at him. 

A metal hand clamped around her wrist and she let out a yelp and struggled.

“PLEASE DO NOT RESIST. YOU WILL ACCOMPANY IRENA LANGSTON.” Sharp metal bit into her skin and she bit her lip hard as the handcuffs clicked shut.

She glanced at the Doctor just in time to see his sonic clatter to the floor as the droid jerked his arm behind his back. 

“Confiscate the nonhuman’s device,” Irena snapped. “And follow me.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Nonhuman—”

The droid shoved Rey forward and she stumbled and let out a little cry. She turned to glare at the hulk of metal. “I’ve _still_ got a—”

“Rather unreliable lightsaber. Yes, we know.” Irena’s voice was clipped as she strode down the hallway ahead of them. “My droids can subdue you if you try anything so I think it’s best you follow my orders, Miss Smith.” She stopped at an elevator and tapped the button. The droid stopped abruptly and Rey stumbled and bit back a frustrated cry. 

Well, the droid couldn’t stop her from talking.

“You _promised._ ” Her voice was hot. “You told me they weren’t—”

“Miss Smith,” Irena snapped. “Please refrain from speaking until we have reached the containment wing.”

She blinked. Containment wing?

The elevator doors opened and Irena stepped inside, motioning for her droid to follow her. Rey’s droid shoved her into the elevator and stepped in after her, its metal fingers still gripping her handcuffs in an unbreakable grip.

The doors closed.

“Alright, release them.” Irena glanced up. “And could you please try to be a little less rough? Humans and humanoids aren’t made of metal, you know.”

The droid let go and the bite of metal against her wrist released. 

Irena looked at her with a sigh, some of the cold, businesslike façade dropping away. “I’m sorry,” she said, quietly. “It’s just that the scans showed that he,” she nodded to the Doctor, “was nonhuman, and if they had footage of me simply going up and _talking_ to a known nonhuman, well…”

Rey blinked. “So you’re not…”

Irena laughed. “No, I’m not arresting you.”

“What’s with the ‘nonhuman’ thing, anyway?” The Doctor rubbed his wrists and held out his hand to the droid. “And sonic please.”

The droid dropped the screwdriver into his hand and let its arm fall to its side.

Irena raised an eyebrow. “You mean you don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

“About the nonhuman thing?” Her lips pressed into a thin line. “They’re not welcome here.” 

The Doctor frowned. “Now, that’s just—”

“I know. I don’t agree either, but it’s the rules. If anyone is found to be nonhuman, they are to be reported immediately. I couldn’t risk being seen simply talking to one.” 

Rey frowned. Sure, she could see Irena’s reasoning, but...

“I’m not sure I can trust you,” she snapped. “You tried to send me to my death and you _lied_ about it.”

Irena blinked. “I what?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know!” Rey’s voice was hot. “You sent me down into the lab and they tried to _kill_ me!” Her hand went to her lightsaber. “Tell me where you’re taking us.”

“I’m taking you somewhere where there’s no security cameras so you can get out,” Irena said sharply. “And I had no idea…” Her voice trailed off, and sudden realization dawned across her face. “They _what_?”

The Doctor glanced between them. “You two know each other?”

“Yeah, she checked me in and nearly sent me to my death.” Rey’s grip tightened on her lightsaber. “And if you’re trying to take us back to the lab—”

“They did _what_?” Irena’s businesslike mask dropped away completely and Rey saw horror in her eyes. “They tried to…”

Rey frowned. “You didn’t…”

The Doctor waved from the corner of the elevator. “I’m the Doctor, in case anyone was wondering.”

Irena glanced his direction. “Oh, doctor who?”

“Doctor John Smith, nice to meet you.” He held out a hand. “Even if you did just try to arrest me. Getting arrested can be handy, you know. Gets you in the middle of things.” 

Irena blinked. “Smith?”

“Yeah.” He nodded to Rey. “We kinda know each other.”

Rey glared at him.

Irena blinked. “Oh. Well. If I’d known you were married I would have called you _Mrs. Smith._ ” She glanced between them. “Now, you were saying…?”

“Right, yeah. They tried to kill me. With this!” Rey held out her lightsaber. “Which I made!”

“They…actually tried to…I am so sorry.” Irena looked away, her fists clenched. “I already knew this ship was a hell-hole for nonhumans, but I had no idea it was just as bad for the human recruits.” Her voice was low and it sounded as if she were trying to force it into its usual even tone. “And all those times I sent a new recruit down to the lab…”

“Did they ever come back?” The Doctor leveled her with a dark gaze, though he seemed to be looking through her rather than at her. “Did you ever see them again?”

“It…wasn’t my…job…” She trailed off and suddenly the businesslike mask snapped into place again. “Come with me.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “And where, exactly would you be taking us?”

“To look at the records. I haven’t got access to everything but I think I have enough that we can come up with a plan.”

“A plan for…?”

“To do something about the team of scientists who is currently making a job of killing their test subjects,” Irena replied sharply.

A grin burst across the Doctor’s face. “Rey, I like this friend of yours! Hey, you happen to have a schematic of the imagination machine thingy too—”

“BB8 does,” Rey cut in.

“He what?! Well why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Because we were a little busy running away from a team of mad scientists who wanted to kill me while the ship was collapsing around us!”

“Well let’s take a look!” He grinned. “Irena! Did you hear that? BB8 has a—”

“I heard,” she said coolly. “And I think it might be best to find someplace a little better than an elevator.”

“The TARDIS! The TARDIS’ll be able to read it more thoroughly than—”

Irena raised an eyebrow. “The what?”

“Stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. It’s my ship. The one I got here in—”

“The blue box? That was a ship?”

“You’ve seen—”

“Yes, and it’s rather small for the three of us, don’t you think? I can’t see that it would be much better than an elevator.” She gave them a significant look. “You two can squish yourselves into a tiny box together all you like, but I hardly think it’s a good place to reconvene and look at a schematic.”

The Doctor smirked. “You might be surprised…”

“At any rate, I think if we bring the robot down to the bottom level, there’s no permanent security cameras installed yet as it’s a rather new section of the ship. It should be a good place to reconvene and possibly plan. I think I can access a map—” She reached into her coat—

A muffled _snap_ echoed from the ceiling. Even the robots looked up, and BB8 let out a confused beep.

And then they were falling. 


	10. Part 1 Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I like hurting poor Rey…

Everything was silent.

Silent and still.

Rey blinked, black flashing before her eyes. Metal bit into her arm and a weight pressed on her chest. She struggled to draw a breath. She remembered crashing and shouting and something crunching into her ribs—pain flared through her side as the weight was suddenly released and air rushed into her lungs. Her eyes popped open.

The Doctor’s face hovered in her field of vision.

“Well!” He shook himself and looked around. “That’s one way to get to the basement!”

Rey pushed herself up with a groan. Pain radiated through her chest and she had to stop and draw a shallow breath. Sheaths of twisted metal and wires surrounded her. She edged her shirt up and peered at her ribs.

Not too much blood, but that was definitely going to be a bruise.

Wonderful.

She just sat there for a moment in the pile of ruined metal, trying to get the nerve to stand. The Doctor stepped up and held out a hand—and for once, she let him help her to her feet, biting back a gasp of pain as he slipped an arm around her waist, brushing against her bruised ribs.

Concern wrinkled his brow. “You alright?”

“Well, I’ve just had an elevator collapse on top of me, so I think you can answer that yourself.” The words were strained as she tried to get her breath. 

Beside them, a woman cleared her throat. Rey blinked and turned to see Irena standing to the side, one eyebrow raised. “For the record,” she said, “your husband took the brunt of the impact. He pushed me out of the way and fell on top of you.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Now—”

“Didn’t think he’d tell you that,” Irena said matter-of-factly. “Now, we need to get out of here. This is the wrong part of the lower level and it’s not safe.”

Leaning a little too heavily against the Doctor, Rey looked around.

Half-finished metal pillars stretched away into shadow, the only light coming from a few small utility lanterns planted about the cavernous area. Every movement echoed. In the distance, Rey thought she could see the twinkle of starlight.

It was open.

Unfinished.

“It’s been unstable ever since they started building it.” Irena was already walking forward, her heels clicking on the metal floors. “Prone to losing pieces.”

The Doctor’s eyebrows shot up. “Losing….pieces?”

“I meant that exactly how it sounded.” She smiled a humorless smile. “Losing pieces.” The smile dropped. “We…have a high turnover here. Of workers.”

Rey blinked. “So it just…loses…pieces?” She tensed, staring at the floor. What if it decided to drop out from under her? “Sections just drop off? Why?”

The Doctor gave her a half-grin. “Always did like girls who ask the right questions.”

She smacked him on the arm.

He was only making this worse, acting like he was flirting.

“Nobody knows. The whole ship’s volatile, although the core sections aren’t quite as bad. It’s the new sections that are the worst.” Irena led them around a corner and stopped. 

They stood in the doorway to a slightly more finished room, the walls sleek and polished. An empty table stretched across the far wall and floor-to-ceiling windows looked out into space. The only light was distant starlight, casting the room in silhouette and shadow.

“Please forgive me.” She frowned. “I’ve only been to this level once and never to this section. We seem to have stumbled on some sort of observation chamber?”

Rey’s eyes widened—and she ran to the window with a small gasp.

She had seen the stars every night on Jakku. But these—these were stars from another universe. She pressed her hands against the cold glass, her breath fogging up the window as she gazed out into the blackness, pinpricked with distant points of light.

How many universes did they hold?

She turned to see the Doctor standing at her side, grinning a little. She felt herself smiling. “Doctor—can you show me the constellations?”

“That one, right there, is the Lasley System.” He directed her gaze to a tiny spiral of stars, just at the edge of the window. “Remember that one time I mentioned the Crystal Falls of Calissa? Ooh, I think that was back on Jakku. Yeah, they’re there, second star to the right. Ooh, I like that, second star to the right.” He grinned. “Sounds like a GPS. Galaxy positioning system?” He laughed. “And that one—”

“That one’s the Spirian System.” Irena’s voice at Rey’s side made her start and turn. She stood silhouetted by starlight, a slight smile touching her lips. She looked almost dreamy. “The Planet of Spires.” 

“Oh!” The Doctor grinned. “The Planet of Spires! Ooh, I’ve always wanted to visit. The whole intergalactic investigations operation they’ve got going there is brilliant, just brilliant. You’ve been there? You happen to have visited the Academy?” 

“Been there? I—” She cut herself off quickly. The businesslike mask returned. “Yes. I’ve been there. Now, we’ve got to—”

A noise echoed through the cavernous basement.

Rey’s eyes flicked across the room, scanning for exits. Nothing. No way out except for the way in.

It sounded like metal clanking against metal. Like some giant machine was making its slow way down the hallway toward them, nearly making the floor shake. A shadow flickered across the doorway and then a giant bulk of a droid engulfed the opening, blocking out the residual light of the utility lanterns outside.

Rey froze, her hand on her lightsaber.

And then she was running forward, the blade flashing out. She slashed wildly as the droid turned, almost clumsily, and brought up its hand. With fingers large enough to engulf her waist, it could crush her in an instant. It raised its hand, moving back as if to grab her—

She slashed forward, the lightsaber blade cutting through metal with a hiss. The giant hand fell with a clank to the floor, wires sticking out in all directions.

Rey took a deep breath.

 _Don’t relax._ She’d probably just made it angry…

 _Clank._ The giant hulk of metal maneuvered itself through the doorway and she backed away, lightsaber sizzling. It raised its arm, wires poking from its empty wrist, and she thought she heard the crackle of electricity. It moved forward, slowly, ponderously, the twisting wires approaching her—

She shoved her lightsaber into the open wires.

Electricity shot down the blade, through the hilt, and up her arm. She stiffened and froze, unable to move, unable to cry out at the white-hot pain that shot through her. The blade crackled and fizzled and bolts of electricity shot along the white laser and she struggled to let it go, struggled to let it fall to the ground—

The droid stopped.

Rey nearly collapsed, the lightsaber retracting and clattering to the floor. She stumbled forward and fell to her knees, gasping, her fingers tingling and stinging where the electricity had coursed through them. The droid tried to take a step forward, its movements jerky and clumsy. Wires broke from its arms, torso, and legs. 

She forced herself to a sitting position and wiggled away, staring.

It collapsed to the floor, the wires squirming and wiggling like worms. The twitching pile spread out like a seeping puddle—and then, it seemed to dissolve into the floor, turning to dust.

She jumped to her feet, staring wide-eyed.

The Doctor and Irena came to her side, also staring.

Footsteps clicked on the metal floor outside. 

“Oh, good.” Dr. Maryn appeared in the doorway. “We’ve finally found you.” 


	11. Part 1 Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Action scenes are hard...

Rey lunged forward, igniting her lightsaber again. “Why do you want to kill me?” The crackling blade sizzled at the woman’s neck. “Why do you hate me _so much_ that you’ll chase me all the way to the basement just to put my own lightsaber in my heart?”

“We don’t hate you.” Dr. Rodrin stepped up behind Dr. Maryn. His voice was cool and impassive. “It’s only a continuation of the experiment. We need to test a new update I’ve made to my machine—”

“ _Your_ machine?” Irena’s voice was sharp. “You didn’t make that machine or do a single update on it any more than I did!”

Rey blinked. 

He—hadn’t made the Imagination Machine?

Then who did?

Maryn crossed her arms, her eyes flashing fire. “Liar,” she snapped. “You’re just a secretary, how would you know? Careful or you might be the next one in line for testing.”

“Oh, I’m quite sure that won’t happen.” Irena stepped forward as if to push past the pair. “Now if you’ll let us go, maybe I won’t file a report on you for unethical practices.” 

Maryn didn’t move. “No.”

Rey released the lightsaber blade again, narrowing her eyes and meeting the woman’s gaze. “What if we leave anyway?”

She took a step forward, her mind racing. She wasn’t going to kill the woman. The image of the blade slicing through her heart and leaving a sizzling hole flashed through her mind. She remembered the sizzle of the dalek’s blaster, the black burn on the raider’s back. 

A shiver cut through her. She couldn’t kill her. She couldn’t.

So what was she going to do?

She took a step forward, blade crackling. She could cut off her hand, her arm, leave her unable to move and then push past her—

She saw the severed arm falling to the floor, heard the sickening plop.

She couldn’t do it.

Her finger moved for the button. She could always use the hilt as a blunt-force weapon anyway.

Maryn lunged.

Her fingers closed around Rey’s wrist, twisting her arm behind her back with a sharp jerk. In a flash of a second, Rey saw what she planned to do. The blade would go up, and go straight through Rey’s heart from behind.

She moved a finger, just slightly, and pressed the button. The blade retracted just as the hilt slammed into her back, her shoulder twisted painfully. 

Maryn cursed. Her fingers tightened around Rey’s hand, searching for the button again. Rey strained against her grip, drawing back to jab an elbow into her stomach—

A giant crash echoed through the room.

Maryn’s grip loosened and Rey whirled to see the Doctor standing by a shattered window, the droid’s giant hand hefted in his arms. 

“You _idiot!_ ” Maryn’s voice shot fire. “Do you realize what you’ve done? You’ve—”

The Doctor grinned a wild, almost crazy grin. “Yep! I’ve broken the airlock! Now run!” 

For a flash of a second both scientists just stood there, gaping as if they couldn’t believe it. And then—

“Run,” Maryn hissed.

Rey turned and ran. The Doctor shoved something in his coat, grabbed Irena by the hand and they turned and took off down the hallway, the Doctor kicking the door closed behind them with a slam. 

“This whole level’s gonna implode any minute!” he shouted. “Steps! Elevator! Anything!” Irena’s heels clacked on the metal floors and BB8 skittered and bounced along behind them, their footsteps echoing off the walls and ceiling. She thought she heard the cracking of broken metal and cold air seeped along the floor.

The Doctor grabbed her around the waist and shoved her through a door, slamming it behind him. He paused for a flash of a second, tinkering with the lock, and then started up the stairs at a run.

“I’ve reset the airlock, we’re safe to get up the stairs!” he shouted behind him. “But they’re still coming after us!”

BB8 clunked up onto the first step and stopped, tilting his head to the side with a frustrated beep. Rey huffed and stopped, staring at him as if she could pull him up the steps with her mind. “BB8! Come _on!_ ”

BB8 bumped up another step.

Something cracked on the other side of the door, and she heard the shouts of the scientists. 

“We’ve got to get into the upstairs airlock!” Irena stopped at the next landing, her hands clenching the bannister. “Leave the droid behind and _go_!”

Rey leveled a glare at Irena. She _wasn’t_ leaving BB8 behind. “Doctor—”

The Doctor darted back down and leaned down, looping his arms around the round droid. Hefting him up in his arms, he took off up the steps again.

Rey stared.

“Come _on,_ ” Irena snapped. “You can stare at your husband later. Run!”

Rey blinked, processing her words—and then ran, turning corner after corner until she was dizzy from the twists and turns of the stairs. Crashing and shouting echoed behind them and she pushed herself faster, faster, slamming into the Doctor as he shoved open a door and they tumbled into a small white room. The Doctor dropped BB8 rather unceremoniously and his fingers flashed over the lock, the wobble and blue glow of the sonic screwdriver echoing through the room. BB8 let out a rather disgruntled beep and rolled for the far door.

The Doctor jumped to his feet and threw open the door. BB8 nearly tripped him as he flew out into the hallway and Rey was a step behind. The Doctor sprinted past them and slammed the door behind them, and they stood gasping in a hospital-white hallway. 

BB8 shook himself like an offended cat and looked up at the Doctor. If the single eye could glare, it did. He let out a beep that was somehow both indignant and grateful, and probably telling the Doctor never to do that again.

The Doctor rubbed his arms. “Phew,” he gasped. “That droid’s _heavy._ ”

BB8 beeped again.

Rey glared at the Doctor. “You’ve offended him,” she said.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Well, it’s—”

Footsteps echoed down the hallway, and nearly before the four of them could turn, the two scientists were upon them. Rodrin had his arms around Rey’s waist and was hauling her down the hallway before she could even open her mouth to protest, and Maryn snatched her lightsaber , her lips twitching in a satisfied grin. 

BB8 screeched and took off after them.

Rey kicked and struggled but Rodrin only tightened his grip, his arm digging into the bruises on her ribs. She bit her lip and shoved a foot backward, aiming for his shins—

He slammed her face-forward into a door. She let out an _oof_ and scrambled to get free, but he had reached around her, unlocked the door, and shoved her into the lab before she could protest. He flung the door shut and locked it before grabbing her by the shoulders and turning her to face Maryn.

“Finally,” she said, a cold smile spreading across her face. “Now that we’ve gotten the imposter out of the way, let’s finish this.” 


	12. Part 1 Chapter 11

Maryn’s finger moved to the lightsaber’s button. Rey struggled, opening her mouth to cry out, to scream for the guards or anyone who could hear. Was there anyone on this ship who could help? Who could come in, right now, and—

The door slammed open and the Doctor, Irena, and BB8 rushed in. BB8 slammed into Rodrin’s legs and he stumbled forward, his hold on Rey releasing. She drove free and lunged for her lightsaber, snatching it and turning it against Maryn. In a flash of a second, she had the woman backed up against the door, the lightsaber hilt at her neck, her finger on the button.

“Get out,” she hissed, shoving her backward and into the hallway. Igniting her blade, she whirled to face Rodrin.

Irena and the Doctor stood at the computer, the Doctor’s fingers flying across the keyboard. Irena turned, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips.

“I think you’ve forgotten something,” she said, taking a step forward. “There’s a reason Dr. Smith here was chosen to join your team. He’s a bit of a genius. Hacking into the permissions is easy. And you…” She raised an eyebrow. “No longer have permission to be here.”

Rodrin opened his mouth to protest, and Rey lunged, the blade searing along his side. His lab coat, suit coat, and shirt shriveled away and she smelled burning flesh before she pulled back with a gasp. He doubled over, gasping for breath.

Irena took the opportunity to shove him into the hallway and slam the door behind him. Her fingers flew over the lock and she turned back with a satisfied smile.

The Doctor slammed a last key on the keyboard and whirled with a grin. “Locked out!” He laughed. “They try using their IDs and the security system will flat-out reject them. Now…let’s have a look at this.” He grinned. “Oh, this is even better than BB8’s schematic.”

BB8 let out an offended beep.

“Good job, Dr. Smith.” Irena stepped to his side. “Now, you should have access to the records—” She reached forward and tapped the screen. The words _Operation Imagination Machine_ flashed across the screen and then hundreds of files appeared. 

Rey stepped to the Doctor’s other side. She saw numbered tests, files, records, so many it nearly made her dizzy. 

“Where do we start?” she murmured.

“I think right here would be an obvious place.” The Doctor gave the screen an emphatic tap and a file of records popped up, flipping through them like a ream of paper before landing on the first page. “Unexpected error, right at the beginning of testing. You did say they were working out some bugs, yeah?” He slipped his glasses on and leaned closer. “Subject number 225 killed during a ship malfunction. Unexpected consequence: 225’s radio…note here.” He swiped to the side. “Radio made by 225 during a test of the Imagination Machine.” He swiped back. “Alright. So. 225’s radio disintegrated and turned to dust after he died. We are currently investigating to see if the odd occurrence is related to his death.”

Rey’s fingers tightened on her lightsaber. “So if it’s somehow connected, that means…”

“That’s why they wanted to kill you.” Irena’s voice was tight. “They wanted to test…”

“Few days later.” The Doctor scrolled down. “Test results positive. The objects made by the Imagination Machine seem to form some sort of psychic link with their creator. If the maker dies, the object falls apart. Now, that _is_ interesting. Never seen anything like it.” He turned to Rey. “Lightsaber. Lemme see.”

Rey blinked, hesitated, then handed it to him.

“Now, we need to figure out _why_ this happens.” He turned the lightsaber over in his hands. “There’s got to be something that’s _planted_ in the object that allows it to form this link. Tell me _exactly_ what they did.”

“They…put the helmet on over my head, and then there was this sharp…” Rey closed her eyes for a moment and rubbed her temples. “Sharp pain. Like they’d just stuck something right into my temple—”

“That’s it!” The Doctor whirled, a grin spreading across his face. “They inject something, some kind of sensor, into your brain, which connects you to the machine and consequently the object you make! Now, there’s gotta be another one of those sensors in the object made, too...probably a function of the machine I’m guessing, how it works to read the schematics from brainwaves and all that. But what they’re trying to do is—” He whirled back to the computer, his fingers flying across the keyboard. “Yes! Yes! Exactly! What they’re trying to do is disconnect this link once the object’s made but they can’t!” He scrolled frantically through the records, taking in each one at a glance. “There’s some function here that doesn’t allow them to override this setting, which lines up _perfectly_ with what Ms. Langston was saying about Rodrin not being the one to make the machine. Now, with _you…_ ” He turned to Rey. “You, _you_ made a weapon, which, to them, was perfect. Not only could they test the link, they could test to see if the object would let them turn it against its maker. Ooh, look, a test.” He tapped the screen and a video popped up.

Rey stepped to his side. A young woman, soft brown curls wisping around her face, sat in the chair Rey had sat in, just a few hours earlier. She looked a little proudly at a small robot at her feet.

She had made it. She had made it from the Imagination Machine—

Like a punch to the stomach, Rey knew in an instant where this was going. “Turn it off.” She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. “Turn it off…please…”

When she opened her eyes, Dr. Maryn was standing by the chair, a needle in her hand. The girl looked up at her, blue eyes wide and confused, as the woman jabbed the needle into her arm.

She choked, opening her mouth to speak, and then her head slumped forward and she went limp.

Rey clutched at the edge of the table, unable to look away.

The little robot began to convulse, wires emerging like squiggling worms, and finally collapsed and disintegrated into a pile of dust.

The screen went black.

For a moment, the three of them just stood, staring at the screen.

“We’ve got to stop this.” The Doctor’s voice was hard, dark. “Everyone on this ship needs to know who these scientists are and what they’re doing.” He stepped for the door, unlocking it with a click and jerking it open. “Irena. Is there any way to broadcast this? Any way for the whole ship to know—”

“I’ll do you one better.” She stepped past him. Her voice was hard and clipped. “I’ll report this to the authorities on the ground. They’ll send up a team to take them down immediately.” She strode down the hallway and Rey ran to catch up. “Come with me, the holding bay’s this way, there’ll be a ship that can take us to the ground. We’ll be down and back in no time.” 

“I’ve got my TARDIS, that’s quicker.” The Doctor darted to catch up. “I can just step inside and…” He snapped his fingers. “We’re on the ground in a single second.”

“Oh, I meant to tell you.” Irena kept walking, her businesslike mask hiding all emotion. “We’ve relocated your ship, it’ll be in the holding bay too.”

His eyebrows shot up. “You just—took it?”

“Of course. We couldn’t simply leave it in the middle of the hallway, people walk through there and it was blocking things up.” She stepped up to an elevator and pressed the button. “You can claim it any time, you know. They’re not keeping it from you.” The doors opened, and the three of them stepped inside. “At any rate, I’ll take you to the holding bay. We go down to the ground, report unethical behavior, and come back up to make sure the authorities do their job.”

The elevator stopped and the doors opened again. Irena stepped out—and froze in the doorway.

They looked out upon a wreckage.

The floor was cracked and twisted, a few small ships rolled onto their sides. High above, the ceiling sagged. And the entire far wall looked out into space, the wall sheared away as if it had been ripped from the side of the ship. Cold air rushed into the elevator.

“This…” Irena looked around, her businesslike mask cracking again. “This…was the holding bay…”

“My TARDIS?!” The Doctor pushed past her, dashing out into the ruined chamber. “Where’s my TARDIS?!”

“I’m sorry, Dr. Smith.” Irena’s voice was nearly emotionless. “If it’s not here, then it was lost in the collapse.” 

* * *

_End of Pa_ _rt I._


	13. Part 2 Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Part 2! :D

For a long moment, the Doctor just stood, a lone figure amid the wreckage. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, the words seeming to die on his lips.

Rey moved to his side and put a gentle hand on his arm. “It’s on the ground,” she said softly. “Or floating around in space somewhere. It’s survived Jakku raiders and creatures that eat minds, we’ll find it…” 

“We’ll find it…” His eyes widened and a slow grin spread across his face. “We’ll find it!” He turned and dashed back to the elevator. “Come on! We can find it!” 

Rey blinked. “Um. Where are we going?”

“Back to the lab!” He slammed a button and stepped inside. “Come on!”

Irena raised an eyebrow. “Dr. Smith, as much as I admire your enthusiasm, I have to say—”

Rey sighed. “You’ll get used to him. Just come on.” 

Irena picked her way back through the wreckage. “Alright…”

BB8 bumped into the elevator and Rey follow, Irena just behind. The Doctor stood, his hands behind his back, bouncing on his toes.

“If that lab’s anything as advanced as the two so-called scientists say it is, it’ll have scanning technology able to encompass this whole ship and beyond. Or scanning technology that can be _modified_ to encompass the whole area of the ship. Which means I can scan for the TARDIS!” The elevator doors slid closed and he grinned proudly at Rey and Irena. “Oooh, that’s good, isn’t it? If I can just figure out…”

“It is good, Doctor, but I’m not terribly fond of self-congratulatory scientists,” Irena said dryly. “Also, you’ve pressed the wrong button. The lab is on level five.”

“Oh.” The Doctor reached forward, but Rey’s hand was there first, pressing the button for level five. “Well. To level five it is. Allons-y!” 

The elevator slid smoothly upward and the doors opened on a familiar hospital-white hallway. The Doctor was out the door before Rey could take a breath. She sighed, glanced at Irena, and they both followed at a slightly slower pace.

The Doctor skidded to a stop in front of the door to the lab and whipped out his psychic paper, scanning it across the lock. The door beeped, and he stopped, frowning.

Rey came to his side, Irena just behind. “What’s wrong?”

“It says ‘access denied.’” He slipped his glasses on and crouched so he was eye-level with the lock. “Now, I’m pretty sure I gave myself access when I hacked in earlier…oooh, look at that.” He turned, sonic in hand. “I’ve got it to show me who denied me access! It says ‘commander.’ Now…”

Irena’s eyes widened. “Commander Roberto Mariana?”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Not that specific but I’m assuming, yeah.”

“That means...” Irena’s businesslike demeanor cracked, just a bit, and her voice was serious, deadly serious. “That means,” she said, and her voice was low, “that he knows you’re here.” 


	14. Part 2 Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well now I feel bad for Renny…

The Doctor stood and turned to Irena. “I’m just gonna assume that’s a bad thing?”

“Bad thing? It’s a very bad thing, Dr. Smith. It’s _Commander Roberto Mariana._ ” Her voice had a lilt of an accent that Rey didn’t recognize. “If he finds out there’s a nonhuman aboard his ship trying to sabotage the work of his top scientists, he’ll…well, I don’t know.” She looked away, her voice hardening. “I don’t have access to the files on what he does in situations like this.”

“Well, I’d like to think I’m a bit more trouble than most nonhumans,” the Doctor said cheerily. “Now, we need to…”

“We need to figure out how he found you and when he’ll be sending his guards after you,” Irena said shortly. She turned and started back down the hallway. “Come with me, we can regroup in my office, I’ve got the place mostly locked down.” 

Rey sighed and followed. If she hadn’t been able to tell these hallways apart before, she certainly would now. 

Irena marched down the hallway and Rey and the Doctor followed, BB8 turning with a curious beep.

“Yeah, same,” Rey said with a sigh. “I’ve got no idea what’s going on either.” 

Irena stepped onto the elevator and motioned sharply for the others to follow. Rey nudged BB8 inside before stepping inside herself—and froze as the doors closed behind her. 

A small form stood in the corner.

Rey started, her hand going to her lightsaber. “Doctor…”

Her eyes adjusted, and she saw that the form was that of a boy, about ten years old. His dark hair fell raggedly over his face and his clothes were torn and dirty, his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes downcast.

“I’m terribly sorry, ma’am.” The boy’s voice was low, soft. He glanced up at Irena. “Please don’t report me, ma’am.”

“Report you?” Irena dropped to a crouch in front of him, her face at his level. “And why would I do a thing like that?”

He looked away.

Rey stepped forward, searching his face. His dark eyes seemed sad, somehow, and afraid. She put a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

“What’s your name?” she said softly.

“I’m Renny.” He didn’t look up, and his lower lip trembled, just slightly. “Please don’t—”

The elevator doors opened. 

Two guards stood in the hallway, masks covering their faces.

“Will the nonhuman please step forward?” the guard intoned. 

No one moved.

“We’ve detected the presence of a nonhuman.” The guard’s voice was cold, impassive, almost mechanical. Was he another droid? 

Rey’s hand slid to her lightsaber.

Still, no one moved.

The second guard reached for his pocket, drawing out a small device, seemed to be some sort of scanner. He held it forward—

The boy stepped forward. “It’s me,” he said, and his voice trembled slightly. “I’m the nonhuman.”

The guard held the scanner forward for a moment. Rey edged in front of the Doctor, lightsaber ready to draw. If he was scanning for nonhumans—

“Half-breed.” The cold, mechanical tone dropped from the guard’s voice and now, it almost seemed a sneer. His hand clamped down on the boy’s arm. “Come along, boy.”

The boy looked up at the three of them, his eyes deep pools of terror. Rey stepped forward, rage boiling. Where were they taking an innocent little boy and why was he so terrified? She opened her mouth to shout at them—

The guard snapped his fingers. And the elevator doors slid closed.

The Doctor slammed the button, forcing the doors to slide back open, but when he dashed out into the hallway, the guards were gone.

“Where are they taking him?” Rey grabbed Irena by the sleeve and stared at her, feeling a premonition of horror welling up inside her. “Irena, where are they—”

Irena shook her off and started down the hallway without a word. 

“You’ve got to tell me!” Rey ran after her, BB8 bumping along behind her. “ _Where are they taking him?!”_

“We can’t save him.” Irena’s voice was hard. “Nobody has access to the ejection bay but the guards—”

“Ejection bay?”Rey skidded to a stop, eyes widening. Her voice rose to a tone that was nearly a shout. “ _Ejection bay?!”_

“Yes. Nonhumans are—”

“We’ve got to save him!” Rey grabbed Irena by the arm and nearly shook her. “We’ve got to! We can’t let—”

Irena’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I think there are more pressing matters at the moment, Rey.” Her voice sounded as if she were keeping it even with an effort. “Right now, we’re going to—”

The Doctor strode past, his coat flapping behind him. “Right now,” he said, his voice dark, “we’re gonna have a little talk with this Commander Mariana of yours.” 


	15. Part 2 Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bit of fun with BB8 in this story lol

Irena stopped, staring at the Doctor. “You want to speak to Commander Roberto Mariana?” She raised an eyebrow. “No one speaks to the commander unless they have an appointment.”

“Then we’ll make one!” The Doctor whipped his psychic paper out of his pocket and held it toward Irena. “Flash this and they’ll let me in anywhere.”

She blinked. “That…says you have a special invitation to the palace of the king.”

“Ooooh.” The Doctor turned it around and stared at it. “Wrong thing.” He shook it and turned it back around. “This good?”

“Yes, that seems to be right. But Doctor, you are aware of the fact that you just revealed your false identity very clearly for me to see, are you not?”

“Ooh, that’s not good. Good point. Should be more careful with that.” He turned and started back down the hallway. “Anyway. Map. You have a map? Where’s this Commander Roberto Mariana?”

“I don’t have access to that.”

Rey blinked. “You don’t…”

“I only have access to specific parts of the ship. Only those granted permission are allowed to enter the commander’s headquarters.” 

“So we just take a look at your maps and check out the blank areas!” The Doctor started off down the hallway at a near-run. “Where’s your office again?”

“Dr. Smith,” Irena said patiently. “If you want me to lead you, I’ll have to ask that you don’t automatically run in front of me. And yes, a process of elimination could work.” She started down the hallway at a fast stride, her heels clicking on the tile. “My office is just around this corner. Hopefully we can put together a fairly accurate map of the ship if we can make a sort of composite of the maps I have access to. It might take me a bit, so you’ll have to bear with me.” She stopped at the door to her office and stepped inside, motioning for them to follow. 

Rey stepped inside, BB8 just behind her. BB8. She blinked, a ghost of an idea flickering through her mind. 

“Doctor. Irena. I think BB8 can do that?”

Irena stopped, her fingers hovering over her keyboard. “Do what?”

“Put the maps together.” Rey felt herself grinning as the idea took shape in her mind. “If we download them all into him, I think he can synthesize them—”

“Oooh, that’s genius!” A grin broke across the Doctor’s face. “Let’s see these maps of yours, Ms. Langston!”

“That’s _Miss_ Langston if you’re really wondering.” Her voice had a bite to it that made Rey wonder—well, it made her wonder _something._ But she turned away and started typing at her computer before Rey could get a closer look. Her fingers clicked across the keyboard and a few different lock screen flashed by, encryptions and firewalls and hidden files and more encryptions. “Here we are.” She scrolled down the screen. “I’ve put a few files together to make a comprehensive map of level 2. But there’s four other levels, plus the bottom level, the one in process.” A ghost of a smile flickered across her face. “The one we may have collapsed. But I doubt he’d put his headquarters down there.” She tapped on last key. “Alright, I’ve opened it up to outside networks. Just plug the robot in and it should be able to download the map files.”

BB8 let out an unhappy beep.

Rey frowned. “What’s that?”

He beeped again.

“Oh—he just told me he prefers not to be called ‘it.’” 

“Oh.” Something flickered across Irena’s face and she glanced away, just for a moment. “Well, I’m very sorry, B88.”

BB8 tilted his head to the side and beeped unhappily again.

“It’s BB8,” Rey said.

“Oh—BB8. My apologies.” She turned back to the computer. “But the point stands—can he be plugged in?”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “I think I can—”

BB8 beeped.

“He says he can do it himself,” Rey said.

He rolled over to the computer. A section of his side slid away and a cord snaked out, snapping into a plug. Lights flashed across his front and he withdrew the cord. 

He looked up at the three of them with a proud beep—and then his head drooped forward.

Rey dropped to a crouch in front of him. “Tired?” 

He let out a long, slow whistle. 

“He’s used up a lot power,” she said, standing again. “He needs to recharge—”

He beeped stubbornly and raised his head with an effort. Something whirred inside him and he moved slowly over to a corner, more lights flashing across his panels. His head drooped and he forced himself to raise it again—and then one of the panels withdrew and a projection filled the room.

At first, Rey could hardly tell what it was. For a moment she felt as if she were standing in a giant dollhouse, surrounded by tiny hallways and rooms.

She let out a little gasp.

“It’s a map!”

A slow grin spread across the Doctor’s face. “One giant, 3D map!” He took a step forward, colors flickering across his face and suit. He slipped his glasses on, rooms and hallways reflected in their lenses. “So it looks like we’ve got most of levels 2 and 3 mapped out. Most?” He stepped back and tilted his head to the side, examining what appeared to be a blank spot in the projection. “What’s this?”

“That’s one place I haven’t been able to get access to,” Irena said. “I’ve tried, but it won’t let me in.” 

The Doctor turned with a slightly devilish grin. “Well I think we know where we’re going first," he said.


	16. Part 2 Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whee this was a fun chapter

“So this is it.” The Doctor stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed, sizing up a large metal door planted in a seemingly random place on the hospital-white wall and padlocked into oblivion. “The door you can’t seem to open.” 

Irena nodded. “Yes. And there doesn’t seem to be any record of what’s behind it; none that I can find, anyway.” She tapped a toe against the floor. “Dr. Smith, I’ve never been able to discern how vigilantly they watch the security cameras, but considering the measures they’ve taken here,” she nodded to the padlocks that crisscrossed the door like scars, “I’m fairly certain they’ll be keeping a close eye on this area. We need to move fast.”

“Right then! Let’s be quick.” He whipped out his sonic screwdriver and trained it on the locks.

Rey stepped forward and raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t we already established that this is easier?” Her finger went to the button on her lightsaber. “You don’t even know that thing will work on all these.”

Irena frowned. “You’re going to—”

A slight grin tugged at Rey’s lips and she turned back to Irena. “Well, it works,” she said, before releasing the sizzling blade into the mess of locks. 

The smell of searing metal filled the hallway and Rey nearly choked. The locks twisted and melted and Rey jumped back, dodging the molten metal that dripped down the door and hissed against the floor-tiles. The lightsaber blade flickered and she nearly dropped it from the heat that radiated from the door. The blade retracted and she stumbled away from the door as it drifted open.

Cold air hissed against melted metal.

Air rushed into the hallway, sucking them forward into a narrow tunnel before Rey could even cry out. BB8 let out a screech and slammed into the far wall before tumbling over and over with a series of frantic beeps. Icy, stinging air rushed past Rey and she grabbed wildly for something, anything to hold onto, yelling for the Doctor, Irena, BB8, even her lightsaber as if it could help her. Any minute now they would either slam into a floor and break their necks or fall into the vacuum of space. 

She dared a glance downward.

She didn’t see a floor. 

She launched herself at the wall, and her fingers caught. 

“Doctor, we’re—”

“I know!” He dangled from the far wall, one arm around BB8 and the other around Irena, his feet flailing wildly. “It’s a tunnel into space!”

Rey dug her fingers harder into the wall. She searched for a foothold, one foot finding an indent. She reached up and found a handhold, a smooth, round, metal handhold. It felt like—

A doorknob! She was hanging from a door!

Now, if she could just get it open—she tried to turn the knob but her foot lost its grip and she was left dangling by one hand. She yelped and found her foothold again. She couldn’t use her lightsaber, not here, not unless she could hold onto something that wasn’t the doorknob she needed to burn through.

“Doctor!” Her voice echoed across the chasm. “Your sonic! Now!”

No response.

She turned. 

An open door swung into the empty space. 

She groaned. He had just gone and found a door of his own and jumped inside. Of course he had, opportunity-taker that he was. He’d come back for her, right? How long could she just keep hanging here?

Well, she wasn’t going to depend on it. She searched along the wall and found another foothold. Something puffed onto her leg and she looked down to see black dust coating her ankle. She frowned but didn’t let it break her concentration, searching for another handhold. 

The doorknob twisted under her fingers—and the door burst open, slamming into her stomach. She let out a little yelp—and then she was falling again.

A hand closed around hers, dragging her upward and onto a hard surface. She heard the slam of the door behind her and slumped forward, gasping, her heart pounding in her ears. 

Something bumped against her head and she looked up to see BB8 sitting beside her, looking down at her with a concerned beep. 

She pushed herself up. Everything in her felt weak and shaky, as if a sense of calm had descended on her so suddenly it nearly knocked her out. She slumped back against the door, the metal cold against her back. 

The Doctor and Irena stood over her.

“Thanks for that,” she managed between still-returning breaths.

He ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeaaah, about that. We popped inside and ran around here as fast as we could, used BB8’s map. Now…” He froze, his fingers tangled in his hair, staring at the floor at Rey’s feet. Or rather, staring _at_ Rey’s feet.

She followed his gaze. Black dust still coated her ankle.

One eyebrow shot up. “What’s that?”

She frowned. “I’m not sure.” She reached down to wipe the dust off. “Must have rubbed off of the walls or something.”

He clamped a hand around her wrist, stopping her hand just before it touched the dust. “Careful, careful, we don’t know what it is.” He dropped to a crouch before her. Pulling out his sonic, he scanned it across her leg.

He frowned, shook it, and tried it again.

With a shake of his head, he slipped it back into his pocket before swiping a finger across her leg, staring at it for a moment—and then licking it.

She blinked. “Didn’t you say…”

He frowned, one eyebrow raised. “Now, this seems to be the same…” He tilted his head to the side, examining it, then licked it again. “Yep. This is the same as the dust from that robot earlier.” He looked up at Rey. “The one that attacked you.” 


	17. Part 2 Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I write something and then just grin at it because it’s just so, so Doctor. ;)

“The same?” Irena peered over the Doctor’s shoulder as if she could see or understand the reading. “If it’s the same, that means…”

He whipped around, a grin spreading across his face. “Yes!” He snapped his fingers. “Yes! There’s got to be some kind of connection between what happened to that robot and whatever happened to hollow out an entire shaft of the ship! Do you have any idea why there’s a hollow shaft in the ship? Oooh.” He frowned. “Ooh, does it have anything to do with what you said earlier about the lower level losing pieces?” 

“I don’t know, Doctor.” Irena sighed. “But we should keep moving, find someplace a little more secure to discuss this.” 

“Right then. What level’s this?” He frowned, thinking. “If we fell at the speed of…” He paced down the hallway muttering calculations under his breath. “If we were on level five when we started….”

Rey glanced around. Her gaze fell on the doorway—and a little smirk twitched around her lips.

She glanced at Irena.

Their eyes met, and Irena followed her gaze back to the door. And she began to smirk too.

“Um.” Rey fought back a grin. “Doctor.”

The Doctor started, his muttered calculations trailing off abruptly. “What!”

“The door.”

He stopped and raised an eyebrow. She nodded to the door. 

He looked up. 

A large letter “4” was emblazoned atop the doorway. 

Irena’s lips twitched. “By a very complicated process of deduction,” she said, “I would conclude that we are on level four.”

The Doctor blinked.

“Right then.” He cleared his throat. “BB8, bring up level four.”

The little droid let out a slow beep and his head drooped forward, just a bit. Rey huffed a sigh.

“We’ve got to transfer this thing, it’s using up too much of his power. Soon we’re going to have to carry him around _everywhere._ ” She glanced at the Doctor, smirking a little at the image of him hoisting the round droid awkwardly in his arms. 

With an effort, BB8 lifted his head and the map projected across the hallway, first the whole ship, then flickering out floor by floor until it focused on the fourth level. Rey glanced at the empty space close to where they stood.

“BB8, can you fill that in?” She nodded from the map to the door. “Since we know what’s on the other side of the door…”

The little droid nodded, and the projection flickered. A near-perfect image of the empty tunnel filled in the blank space.

Irena smiled, then grinned. “I like this droid of yours,” she said. “Where did you get him?”

Rey stepped out of the glow of the hologram, leaving the Doctor to examine the map for a moment. “I found him on Jakku—on my home planet.” 

Irena raised an eyebrow. “Found him?” She dropped to a crouch to examine the droid, whose head was drooping again, just slightly. “This is a complex piece of robotics, it hardly seems to be the kind of thing someone would just drop off.”

Rey narrowed her eyes. “I didn’t steal him, if that’s what you’re insinuating.”

“It wasn’t what I was asking, but that’s nice to know.” Irena lowered her voice. “I’m wondering if he ran away.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Rey patted the droid’s head and stood. The Doctor stood in the middle of the hologram, the map reflecting off his glasses as he examined it.

“I think he’s trying to find a pattern.” Rey nodded to the Doctor. “He rather likes doing that.”

Irena smiled, just slightly. “You know him well.”

Heat rose to Rey’s cheeks and she looked away. “Well, yeah…”

“Well, you know, I support you.”

Rey blinked. “Support…me…?”

“Even if no one else on this godforsaken ship does, I will _always_ support the right of nonhumans to do as they wish, and that includes marrying a human if they love them!” Her words took on a hint of simmering passion Rey hadn’t heard before. “And of course, you know…” She tamped down on the passion and turned it into a surprisingly genuine smile. “The inverse applies as well, even if it is rather unconventional.” She patted Rey on the arm. “You’re a sweet young thing, but do do your best to keep him in line, will you?”

Rey opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. “I—well—”

Would now be a good time to tell her that they weren’t actually married?

The Doctor barreled past, nearly running into both of them. “There’s a blank space that spans two floors right down this hallway!” He grabbed Rey by the hand and started forward.

She let out a yelp. “There’s no need to pull my arm from the socket!” She yanked her hand from his. “I can follow you without you dragging me!”

Irena started laughing. The Doctor turned and raised an eyebrow before taking off again. BB8 turned and bumped along backward, dragging the projection like a holographic trailer.

Rey laughed. “Come on, BB8. You can turn it off.”

He beeped happily and the map flickered out. Rey turned and started after the Doctor, Irena and the droid following.

They turned a corner, and another corner. Dust began to accumulate in the usually impeccable-white hallways, and the whole area felt empty, an almost palpable silence that could only come from the absence of other living beings. The tiling stopped, and the walls turned to unpainted metal. Dust floated around their feet, muffling the echoes of their steps.

BB8 let out an annoyed beep and peered at the dusty floor.

Rey laughed a little. “He says he’s got dust in his workings,” she said.

“No surprise, looks like they haven’t even sent cleaning droids down here in a very long time.” The Doctor’s voice echoed down the hallway and Irena and Rey skidded to a stop to see the Doctor scanning his sonic over a door, nearly hidden in shadows at the end of the metal corridor. He turned to them with a grin. “Whatever this is, they don’t want _anybody_ discovering it.”

The door drifted open, and he stepped inside, motioning for them to follow.

Computers covered the walls, computers and keyboards and wires, stretching up and away to a ceiling that was too tall to encompass only one level. And every screen was black. 


	18. Part 1 Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I’m way too mean to Rey lol

Rey just stood there in the doorway for a moment , looking around. “Seems like some sort of data cache,” she said finally. “Maybe some kind of storage center?” She stepped forward, running back through her memories of hacking into data on old Empire ships on Jakku. “There’ll be encryptions, which we’ll need to get through, and…” She stepped up to the nearest computer. She reached for the keyboard, which seemed to be set so a human could stand before the screen. Was it the sort of thing where a touch of a key would wake up the system?

The moment her fingers touched the keyboard, white-hot electricity shot up her arm. She stumbled backward with a cry and hit the floor with a jarring thump, gasping, white flashing in her vision.

She looked up to see the Doctor hovering over her. “Rey? Rey what happened?” He dropped to a crouch in front of her, raising her face to his and looking deep into her eyes for a long moment.

She resisted the urge to squirm away.

“Okay, you’re fine.” He jumped to his feet and turned to the computer. “Just a little shaken up. Now. They’ve obviously got some kind of encryption on these…”

Rey huffed a sigh. “That’s what I was just saying, Doctor.”

“Right then. If we can just figure out a way to get past this…”

Irena stepped forward, pulling a pair of gloves from her pocket and slipping them on matter-of-factly. “Obviously it reacts to touch,” she said. “Which means if I’m wearing gloves, I might be able to….perfect. Here we are.” She glanced at the Doctor. “Oh, Doctor? Do shut the door behind you, we don’t want anyone walking in on us.”

Rey reached out and nudged the door closed. “Got it,” she said. Her words came out weak and a little shaky and she let out a little frustrated noise. She groaned and rubbed her temples. Her head throbbed and starbursts of white still exploded in her vision.

Why had she gone and _touched_ it?

A presence at her side made her start and she looked up to see the Doctor scanning his sonic over the lock. It clicked and he stepped back with a satisfied grin. “There we go,” he said. “We’re locked in. Don’t worry. We can get out. I hope.”

“I’m in!” Irena tapped a last key on the keyboard—and Rey was suddenly surrounded by glowing electric light. She blinked and groaned, trying to focus on the room around her. 

Letters and numbers and pictures scrolled across hundreds of screens, screens that had been black a moment before. 

She rubbed her temples again. “How did you…”

“Practice.” Irena turned. “Doctor, your turn. Have a look.”

The Doctor stepped to her side, slipping on his glasses. Rey tried to stand but the room slipped out from under her and she found herself sitting again, her head throbbing.

She groaned. Everything hurt. Her ribs. Her singed fingers. Especially her head. Every computer in the room seemed to be sending signals directly into her brain in throbbing pulses, and she couldn’t look at the glowing screens without a stabbing pain behind her eyes.

She closed her eyes and leaned back against the door.

“Records.” The Doctor’s voice filtered through the fog and she tried to listen, tried to absorb what he was saying. It might be important….later….she let herself open her eyes, just for a moment. The Doctor looked up, staring at the screens that filled the room, a slow grin spreading across his face. “Hundreds and hundreds of records.” 

“I assume this is the main controller computer, then.” Irena tapped another key, and something flashed across the screen of the eye-level computer. 

Rey groaned and rubbed her temples again at the flashing lights. 

“I think these are people.” Irena’s voice was blurred but if Rey focused, she could hear her. “Records of….people? Residents?” 

Another few taps on the keyboard. 

“Doctor, you take a look.” 

Rey took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment, and then tried to peer over the Doctor’s shoulder from where she sat.

“Dole, Keira, 26, human. Oooh, it even has height and weight and eye color. Always need to know eye color.” He scrolled down. “Now, this…this is ridiculous amount of information. History, previous work experience, location of birth…ooh, look, they have pictures. I love pictures!” He tapped a key and pulled up a picture of a young woman. It seemed to be taken in some sort of office against a white background. 

Rey frowned and looked closer. From the expression on her face, she had been in the middle of a conversation, unaware that the picture had been taken.

The Doctor scrolled down. More pictures, all seemingly candid shots. She saw the dark-haired young woman working, lifting piles of supplies into some sort of truck, talking to a co-worker—there was even a picture of her eating lunch, sitting in the midst of what appeared to be a construction area.

“And it seems they’ve got hundreds of these records.” The Doctor stepped back, tilting his head back to look at the screens that stretched upward and away. “Every resident? Every resident of the S.S. Mariana? How do they even _get_ this much information?”

“Seems they do their research.” Irena leaned over his shoulder, frowning. “So if they’ve got records of _everyone…_ ” She brushed his hand away. “Alphabetical order I assume but which alphabet?” She nearly pushed the Doctor aside as she scrolled down. “Okay, seems we’re going with English, then. K…L…LA…here we are. Irena Langston, 35, human.”

She paused, and Rey thought she slumped a little, a bit of tension going out of her shoulders. Was that relief? Something was hidden behind that mask of an expression, but what was it?

“Anyway.” Irena looked up. “If they have everyone here, as seems to be the logical conclusion, I wonder…” She frowned. “M…M…here we are.” 

“Oooh.” The Doctor’s eyes went wide and a grin spread across his face. “Ooh, that’s genius!” He nearly pushed her away from the screen, almost bouncing on his toes. “Come on you glorious record-keeping machine, don’t fail me now!” Grabbing the controller, he scrolled down, muttering to himself. “M…MA…Mariana! Commander Roberto Mariana!”

He clicked on the record, and it flashed up across the screen. Rey resisted the urge to jump to her feet, contenting herself with peering around the Doctor as best she could. 

“Name: Mariana, Roberto. Rank: Commander. Planet of origin: Earth.” Rey could almost feel the excitement brewing in him and he scrolled down. “Ooh, look, they’ve got a field for history! CEO of a company on Earth, the year—what is that, five years ago now? Company went bankrupt and folded—reason for bankruptcy—its operations were sabotaged by a crew from—oh. Oooh. We’ve got a _backstory._ ” He whirled to face Irena and Rey. “His company was sabotaged by a crew from outer space. By aliens!”

“His company was sabotaged by nonhumans,” Irena said, and her voice was low. 

“So.” The Doctor began to pace. “He’s rich, he’s successful, he’s the owner of a huge company. Company gets sabotaged by some kind of malevolent alien and he decides he doesn’t like nonhumans because humans tend to generalize things like that. So…”

“Doctor.”

Irena’s voice cut through the room and stopped him in his tracks. She stood before the computer again, a different record pulled up on the screen.

“Doctor,” she said. “I think you’re going to want to have a look at this.”

Rey peered over her shoulder, forcing her eyes to focus on the too-bright display. Slowly, she got to her feet, steadying herself on the wall and edging closer. It couldn’t be. That wasn’t right. They couldn’t know…

She rubbed a hand across her eyes and looked again. It was still there, still just as she had seen it.

Smith, the record said. 

Smith, Rey. 


	19. Part 2 Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, Rey has her flaws too. Including impulsively shouting at people…

The Doctor was at her side in an instant. “Oh.” He frowned. “Ohhh. Have they got me in there? I want to see what they say about me.” He nudged Irena aside and scrolled up. “Yep, there we are! Smith, John, Dr. Got that part right.” He grinned. “What’a they have on my history? Let’s see here….history unknown? Oooh, that’s interesting. At least they can admit when they don’t know….but ooh, that’s not good.”

Rey frowned. “What?”

“If they’ve got this giant database with this much information on everyone, they’re thorough. Which means, if they don’t know, they probably want to know. Which means….”

“Maybe I’m not the only reason they’re sending guards after us?” Rey shot a quick glance at the door. “But we already know that. I mean, they shut you out of the security system, so _somebody_ knows we’re here. But how did the information _get_ there?” She edged closer, reaching for the controller. “That’s what _I_ want to know. We’re not even supposed to _be_ here.”

“Oooh.” The Doctor grinned. “This is why I like you, always asking the right questions! So, obviously they’re watching us somehow. Now…”

Rey closed her eyes for a moment. It hurt to think. But something niggled at the back of her mind, something important. Where had the information come from? Had the scientists entered it into their—

Irena.

She remembered Irena typing as she spoke, then printing out the armband. Her eyes snapped open and her hand went to her wrist.

“Irena.”

“Yes?”

Rey froze, just staring at her. Irena had entered her information. Irena had—she ran back through the whole meeting in the office. The picture of her, had it been taken against the white office walls? Had Irena taken it?

Her hand edged toward her lightsaber, the danger alarms in her mind nearly drowning out the throbbing headache. Irena had entered her information. They were standing in the midst of a giant database, with _her information_ in it. Her name. Her _picture._ Had Irena led her here with her blank spaces and pretend-kidnappings? Had she tricked them into trusting her?

She knew better. She _knew_ better than to trust a stranger she’d only known for a few hours. 

She narrowed her eyes at Irena. “You entered my information,” she snapped.

Irena raised an eyebrow. “I did,” she said.

“And you’re just admitting it? Just like that? You’re admitting that you secretly entered us in some grand database designed to spy on us? You’re admitting—”

“I had _no idea_ they would end up here, wherever _here_ is!” Irena snapped. “You’re quick to blame. Maybe I should have known better than to ally myself with an impulsive 19-year-old human. I screen the new recruits that means entering their records. That is _all._ ” She narrowed her eyes. “And don’t you _dare_ draw your firestick on me for that.” She took a step forward, her eyes flashing, and suddenly she looked dangerous, dangerous and almost dark. “Don’t. You. Dare.”

Rey’s hand closed around her lightsaber. Was Irena threatening her? She could take her. She had a lightsaber—

“So you just enter the records you’re told, huh?” The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets and raised an eyebrow. “And somehow they end up here?”

Rey drew back, her hand still hovering over her lightsaber. Okay, so she would let the Doctor handle this for now. But if Irena _dared_ touch him—

Irena nodded sharply. “Yes.”

“So somehow, something’s routing them from your computers to this database. Something’s been wired to collect information.” He began to pace. “But why? Why would someone want this much information on everyone on the ship? Why would they _need_ this much information? And where…” He stopped and frowned. “Where did those _pictures_ come from?” He turned to the door, pulling his sonic from his pocket. “They don’t look like security camera pictures. Security camera pictures are grainy and usually from some weird angle. No, those are taken from eye level, most of them. Which means….” He scanned the screwdriver across the door. The lock clicked and he pushed it open almost absently, stepping out into the hallway, eyes focused on the device in his hand. He flicked a few buttons and a slow grin spread across his face. “Ooh, I’m clever. Why didn’t I think of this before?” He whirled in a circle, scanning down the hallway. The screwdriver beeped, and he froze. “Oh. Ooooh. That’s not good. That’s not good at all.”

Irena stepped to his side. “What’s not good, Doctor?”

“There’s something in the walls,” he said. “Something tiny, something almost undetectable. And it’s watching us.” 


	20. Part 2 Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehehehe the Doctor is so much fun to write

Rey’s eyes widened and she glanced around the hallway as if she could see the threat. “There’s…what and it’s what?” she blurted.

“Something tiny. Something _microscopic._ ” He dropped to his knees, staring hard at the dusty wall. “It’s all around us, my signal’s going crazy here.” He jumped back up and spun in an almost wild circle, one finger holding down a button on his sonic screwdriver. “There’s thousands of them, some kind of sensor…I need tools!” He shoved his hand into his jacket. “Something to extract—something delicate—”

“Something like this?” Irena pulled a small pair of pliers from her lab coat, a slight smile flickering across her face. “You forget I’m just a bit more than a secretary, Dr. Smith.”

“Perfect!” The Doctor snatched them and dropped to his knees again. Shoving his glasses up his nose, he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side slightly, staring at the wall.

Rey closed her eyes and leaned back against the door. Her head still throbbed.

“I’ve got it!” The Doctor’s shout echoed through the hallway and Rey started and turned to see him standing, staring at a thin dusting of plaster on his finger. “Right here, in my hand, is whatever it is that’s watching us—”

BB8 beeped.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

BB8 let out a series of beeps and whistles, his head rotating from the Doctor to Rey and back to the Doctor.

Rey frowned. “He’s….detecting….something?” Gingerly, she dropped to a crouch before the little droid. “Something…”

BB8 let out a frantic beep.

Her eyes widened.

“In me? You’re….what?”

BB8 seemed torn between her and the Doctor, his beeps and whistles growing more frantic. 

“He’s detecting something in me, something that’s exactly the same as what you have in your hand.” Her hand went to her lightsaber and she clenched the cool metal to tamp down on her rising panic. There was a sensor? In _her?_ Was someone tracking her? Watching her? Reading her mind? 

She jumped to her feet. “Doctor, is there something planted in me? Is someone watching? Is…”

Irena put a gentle hand on her arm. “Rey. Calm. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out. We’ve got me and the Doctor and your genius little robot here. If we have to, I’m sure we can extract it.”

A knot settled in her stomach. “Extract?” She imagined the Doctor plunging the pliers into _her_ like he had plunged them into the wall and swallowed. “What does that…what does that entail?”

“Oh, you know, just a bit of surgery. Might be painful, might not, but the good thing is I always keep anesthetic in my jacket!” The Doctor smirked.

Rey glared at him.

His smile flattened. “Okay, okay, BB8 can you scan for the exact location?”

A blue line flickered across her and stopped at her forehead, blue light glaring in her eyes. The beam narrowed until it hovered over her temple, just on the corner of her vision.

Exactly where—

She felt the sharp, needle-like pain from the helmet again and winced. It was exactly where they had injected—

Her eyes widened. “Doctor…”

A slow grin spread across his face. “Ooh, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“It’s exactly where…”

“Exactly where they injected the psychic sensor!” Rey glanced at her lightsaber. “Does that mean…”

“That the walls are filled with psychic sensors? The same sensor from the Imagination Machine!” He spun in a dizzy circle. “They’re in the walls, in the ceilings, in the floors.” The sonic wobbled and glowed. “Like some kind of mesh, some kind of mesh connecting the whole ship together. But why? Why would the ship be filled with the _same kind of sensor?_ Are they….oh. Ooooh.” His eyes widened and he stared at the device in his hand. “They’re all _broadcasting._ They’re all linked to _something._ To the _same thing._ Which means….ooh, I’m good!” He stared at his hand, which was still dusted with plaster from the wall. “If I can just reverse-engineer it…” He turned his back on them and began to pace. “I think I can trace the link back to its source.” He whipped around with a grin. “I’ve got it!” he cried, taking off at a run, glowing sonic screwdriver thrust in front of him like a dagger. “Follow me!” 


	21. Part 2 Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we meet….the real villain. *insert ominous “dun-dun-DUN” music here*

The elevator doors opened and the Doctor shot off down the hallway, his eyes glued to the sonic in his hand. BB8 bounced after him with a concerned, curious beep and Rey steadied herself against the wall for a moment, still gasping a little from their run through the corridors of the lower levels.

Irena stepped to her side, putting a steadying hand on Rey’s arm. “You alright?” Her voice held genuine concern, and Rey look at her, frowning a little.

Who exactly _was_ this enigma of a woman, and what was behind her businesslike mask?

“Yeah. I’m fine,” she said quickly, taking a deep breath. “Where exactly are we?”

“We’re on the upper level, apparently.” Irena looked around, and Rey took a moment to take in her surroundings. The hallway stretched away a few hundred paces before turning a corner, the walls and tiled floor just as pristine-white, if not more. If that was even possible.

“The very upper level, if I read that blasted speed-streak of an elevator correctly.” A slight grimace flashed across her face. “I don’t have a hint of an idea how your Doctor got it to take us up here that fast but I’m beginning to be rather certain he can communicate with the wires themselves.” She frowned. “The upper level. The first level built, and it’s mostly blank on my maps. Come along.” She started off down the hallway without a backward glance. “I’d like to see what this Doctor of yours has discovered.”

Rey took a deep breath and started after her.

They rounded the corner and found the Doctor and BB8 standing in front of a large metal wall, nearly blank but for a thin line that belied a well-hidden door. The Doctor stood, arms crossed, frowning, and BB8 had his head tilted to the side curiously. 

“This is the source of the signals,” the Doctor said without turning. “There’s something hidden here, something that nobody’s supposed to know about.” He scanned his sonic along the outline. “I’ve only just got the door to show itself, but that’s all. I can’t seem to….oh.” His eyes widened. “Oooh.”

Rey raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“I think I’ve got it!” He shoved a hand into his jacket, a grin breaking across his face. “Ooh, I’m good!” He yanked out a small piece of metal and held it up. “It’s part of the guard’s hand! The one that disintegrated earlier? Yeah, grabbed a piece of it before we ran.” He grinned. “Now I can guarantee you that whatever this is, they certainly allow robotic guards inside. If I can just….” He took a step closer, moving bit of metal along the thin line. 

Something beeped. White light flashed along the outline—and the door slid open.

The room was filled with wires.

Wires and metal stretched up the walls and were pinned across the ceiling and crawled across the floor like snakes. And they all connected to a metal monstrosity which sat like a throne in the center of the room, machine arms protruding from it like some giant metal octopus. 

And in a chair in the center sat a man.

Wires connected to wires, which connected to more wires, which then seemed to be wired into his very brain, the thin lines of metal disappearing into his temples as if they’d been soldered there. Wrinkles creased his face and his dark hair was streaked with grey. But his dark eyes were sharp and alert, and they flicked immediately to the visitors.

Rey’s eyes widened.

She had seen him before.

“So you’re Commander Roberto Mariana,” the Doctor said. His voice was low, and yet somehow it echoed through the room with an almost dangerous undertone. “It’s wonderful to meet the man who wants to kill me.”

“How did you get here, Dr. Smith?” The Commander’s voice was surprisingly powerful, echoing across the chamber as if in a cave. “I don’t remember giving you access.” 

The Doctor stepped forward, hands shoved in his pockets, his eyes dark. “I’m a _very_ good hacker.”

One dark eyebrow flicked up. “No one has ever gained access to my chamber before.”

“Ah, well, I’m clever, see.” The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “Clever and _very_ determined. See, I’ve got a little bone to pick with you about the way you’re treating nonhumans like me. Care for a little chat?”

The commander’s gaze darkened. “I demand you answer me!” He jumped to his feet, wires shivering and dragging behind him. “How did you gain access?”

“Goodness, don’t you listen?” The Doctor turned to Rey and Irena. “He doesn’t listen. I said, very clearly I believe, that I’m a very good hacker. I’m afraid his hearing might be going. Which makes sense considering he’s close to eighty years old.” He gave the machine a sweeping glance. “What is this, some sort of immortality machine? Those don’t usually work very well, far as I’ve seen.” His hand edged toward his pocket.

A metal arm shot out, fingers like pincers closing around his waist. It dragged him closer, closer until he stood before the commander, his feet suspended just above the floor, metal claws digging into his ribs.

“Doctor.” The commander’s face was inches from the Doctor’s and yet somehow, Rey heard his words as if projected through the wires that shivered about him. “I have seen rebellions, and I have seen mutinies. And I have crushed _every single one._ ” He narrowed his eyes, concentration creasing his wrinkled face.

The claws tightened and a wince flashed across the Doctor’s face. 

“I can snap your spine with a single thought,” the commander hissed. “And leave you half-dead on my floor until I crush your worthless brain beneath my feet. And then maybe your little companions will abandon your cause.” 


	22. Part 2 Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending of this chapter made me evil-author-laugh

The metal claws tightened. Rey saw the Doctor struggle to draw a breath, struggle to keep down a ragged cry of pain. Her glance flickered to Irena, and their eyes met.

She ignited the blade of her lightsaber with a sizzle and rushed forward.

Wires burst from the arm as she slashed the glowing blade through metal. The claws loosened and the Doctor managed to worm away, falling to the ground and crumpling to his knees. Rey hacked and slashed at the metal, her breath coming in ragged gasps and rage burning in her chest, until it was nothing but a pile of shards at her feet.

She turned to the commander, and her grip on the hilt tightened. She narrowed her eyes.

“You don’t hurt him,” she said, and her voice was low. “Or I will use this.”

“And who are you, girl?” His hands gripped the edge of his chair. “I suppose you made that sorry excuse for a weapon on Dr. Rodrin’s copy of my machine?”

“Your machine?” The Doctor dragged himself to his feet, one eyebrow raised. He shoved his hands in his pockets a little stiffly. “Your machine? Oooh, that explains everything. That explains…” His eyes widened. “Oooh. Does that mean what I think it does?”

“That I’m in control of this ship? Yes.” Commander Mariana narrowed his eyes, his dark gaze resting on the Doctor. “And that I could destroy you with a single thought? Also yes.” 

“The Imagination Machine!” A slow grin spread across the Doctor’s face. “Oh, now that is _brilliant!_ You made a whole ship just from the schematics in your mind! Now, if you hadn’t just tried to kill me I’d say you were a genius.” He began to pace, his hands still shoved in his pockets, his usual casual pose a bit stiff. Rey could see the holes the claws had ripped in his suit, and she thought she saw blood seeping through. “So the real question is, why is the ship falling apart? Why is…oh. Ooooh.” His head snapped up and his gaze met the commander’s. “You’re dying, aren’t you?”

Commander Mariana’s gaze darkened. “Doctor.” Somehow, the single word echoed through the room, carrying power with it, a dark sort of power that nearly sent ripples through the wires. 

“You’re dying, and the psychic link is slowly breaking.” The Doctor was grinning now, the words nearly tripping over each other. “All those psychic sensor are linked back to _you!_ The walls, the guards, they’re all controlled by _you!_ And your link is breaking, your mind is starting to go, so…pieces of the ship are going too. The lower level. That blasted empty tunnel. The robotic guard that dissolved when it attacked us! Everything’s connected to _you._ And you…ooh. You know how to break the link, don’t you. That setting in the schematics…that link was on _purpose._ ”

“Doctor,” he snarled. “Your words are empty. Meaningless chatter. You know _nothing._ ”

“Ooh, but I think I do.” One eyebrow shot up. “You put that link there for the sole purpose of controlling this ship. You linked yourself to the S.S. Mariana because you wanted _control._ You wanted to create a paradise where none of those blasted nonhumans would ever threaten you again, am I right? Ooh, I’m right, aren’t I? I can see it in your eyes. You wanted to create a utopia ship. Where no one would rebel. No one would threaten your empire. So you kept records. Used the sensors to spy, take pictures, fill an entire room with records. And now it’s falling apart. Falling apart because you’re _dying._ The wires are keeping you alive but they’re killing you at the same time. Slowly.” He took a step forward, his gaze fixed on the commander. “It’s too much psychic drain for one human to handle.” 

The door slid open with a slight rush of air. Rey whirled to see the two scientists standing in the doorway.

Her eyes met Dr. Rodrin’s.

“We’ve finally found you,” he snarled, striding forward before she could react, before she could even reach for her lightsaber. Clamping a hand around her waist he dragged her backward. “Now we can finish—”

“Finish what?” The commander’s voice echoed through the chamber.

Dr. Rodrin froze, one hand clamped around her waist. Beside her, she saw Dr. Maryn stiffen.

“Commander,” he said coolly.

“Copying my machine, claiming you made it yourself?” Commander Mariana took a step toward them, wires dragging and shivering behind him. “Killing human test subjects?” A cold smile spread across his face and his eyes glinted. “If you wanted to know how to break the link, you could have just come to me.”

Maryn’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, we could?” Her hand twitched toward her side. “Then tell us.”

“Why do you want to know? So you can oust me and become Commanders Rodrin and Maryn? Oh, I’ve seen this coming for a very long time.” Hey narrowed his eyes, concentration creasing his face.

Rey tensed and struggled as a shiver seemed to run through the floor. They had to get out of here, _now._ Whatever he was planning on doing to the two usurping scientists, he would take her and the Doctor and Irena with them. She glanced toward Irena—

A shot echoed through the room.

The commander stumbled forward, blood blossoming across his shirt. He let out a strangled cry—and slumped to the ground, his body slamming into the floor with a sickening crunch.

Dr. Maryn stood, a small pistol in her hand, her eyes cold as she stood at the dead body of Commander Mariana. 


	23. Part 2 Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter also made me evil-author-laugh. I love it I write things that make me evil-author-laugh.

For a moment, the whole room stood frozen.

Dr. Maryn slowly lowered her pistol and turned to Dr. Rodrin, her eyes flashing fire. “You coward,” she said, and her voice dripped venom. “Do you see how easy it was? You spend months plotting and planning to take over the psychic link and all you had to do was put a bullet through him. And you call me your assistant.” She spat out the words. “You could never have been commander.” 

Irena stepped forward, snapping a small bracelet-like device onto her wrist. “As acting commander of the S.S. Mariana, I’d say you’re both cowards.”

Everyone froze.

Rey took a step away from Rodrin, whose grip had slowly loosened. “Acting…commander…?”

“High Commander Iria. Planet of Spires.” She reached for her coat and drew out a small pistol, holding it lightly at her side. “I was sent to investigate the rumors of a man targeting nonhumans, with orders to report him to our authorities and commandeer the ship if it was true.” Her eyes narrowed. “And I think I’ve found more than enough evidence.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “So you’re not…”

“Not human. Certainly not.” She turned her sharp, almost cold gaze to the two scientists. “Now, I can call my agents on you, or you can return to the Spirian System in my custody.” She held out the transmitter bracelet. “And I’ve just put a hit on you that will follow you to the ends of the galaxy, so I suggest you agree to turn yourself in.” 

Dr. Maryn’s hand tightened on her pistol.

“Oh, that won’t do any good,” Irena said coolly. “I’ve already sent out the signal, and they’re excellent trackers. Although I suppose if it would help your emotional state…” She raised an eyebrow. “But I hardly think killing the High Commander of the Spirian Forces would help your case.” She turned away. “Do what you like. But someone please do something about the body.”

The Doctor stepped forward, grinning. “Planet of Spires? Ooh, I’ve always wanted to meet one of their commanders, the whole intergalactic investigations thing you’ve got going there is—”

Both scientists began to back toward the door.

Rey’s hand went to her lightsaber.

“Let them go,” Irena said shortly. “They won’t get far.”

Rey frowned and stepped back. The two scientists looked at each other and started out the door at an almost run—and a blue light flickered around them like a column.

Rey’s eyes widened and her hand dropped to her side.

The blue light faded. And the hallway was empty.

“They’ll be brought before the intergalactic court in a few days,” Irena said, turning back to the Doctor matter-of-factly. “Now. Doctor. What were you saying?”

“Your whole operation is brilliant, just brilliant!” He grinned and held out a hand. Irena took it and shook it firmly, with a polite but genuine smile. “High Commander, eh? That would make you…mmm, somewhere around 200? Takes a while to rise to that rank, yeah?”

She smiled wryly. “247, to be exact.”

“Oh, brilliant!” He smirked. “Got about 700 years on you but hey, gotta respect another near-immortal, comes with some life experience, doesn’t it? Say, how’d you get past the whole nonhuman-scanner thing?”

“Oh, we pass as human in most tests. But I did have a shield to make certain of it.” She pulled a small device from her pocket and flipped a switch. “Won’t be needing that anymore. Now, we really should—”

A ripple shivered across the floor, sending the wires and metal arms shivering and clinking.

“Oh.” The Doctor’s eyes widened. “Oooh. That’s bad. That’s very bad.” 

Irena glanced at him, her face going suddenly serious, deadly serious. “What, Doctor?”

“I think the ship’s malfunctioning.” Another ripple, this one nearly sending Rey stumbling. “The Commander was wired into it, psychic link and everything. And now he’s…”

“Now he’s dead.” Irena’s voice was low. “Which means….”

“Which means,” the Doctor said, “that Rodrin and Maryn just missed the biggest experiment yet.” 


	24. Part 2 Chapter 11

Rey edged toward the wall, putting out a hand to steady herself as the floor jittered beneath her. The wires rippled and shivered around her, sliding against each other with a shirring sound. She stared at the chair. The commander had said he knew how to break the psychic link…

An idea sparked in the back of her mind, a tiny flicker of a plan. She grabbed hold of it. She could do this. She _had_ to do this. “Doctor…”

“I’ve got it!” He jumped to his feet, a pair of pliers clutched between his fingers. He swayed wildly and nearly stumbled forward as the floor convulsed again, and crashing metal echoed through the open door. “I’ve extracted the sensor, now if I can just figure out how to reverse-engineer the psychic link I think I can disconnect it and stop the destruction of the—”

“Doctor.”

Rey’s voice echoed through the room and the Doctor stopped, putting out a hand to steady himself on the nearest clump of wires and turning to her.

“What’s that?”

“This ship’s going to go whether you fix the link or not.” Muffled crashing echoed through the doorway, cracking metal and the low whine of half-broken engines. “Somebody’s got to fix it.” 

“Yes, if the engines go we could be pulled to Earth.” Irena’s words were taught. She stood by the door, one hand on the doorframe to keep herself upright. “This thing goes through the atmosphere with broken shields and it turns into a giant flaming projectile. And the only person who could control it is dead.” She tapped her shoe against the shaking floor. “The only solution I can see is to get everyone off and into the escape pods as soon as possible. And be certain we’re well out of the way when it hits land and turns into the equivalent of an atomic bomb.”

“No!” The word came out as a sharp shout and Rey clenched her fists, staring at Irena. “No, we can _fix_ it! Couldn’t the signals be rerouted? Connected to someone else’s mind? If we planted a sensor…”

“Oh. Oooh. Rey, that’s genius!” The Doctor bounded forward and nearly slammed into the chair. “Just gimme a minute here, I should be able to...” He dropped to his knees facing the back of the chair and began to twist wires between his fingers. She could just hear him muttering to himself over the din of the collapsing ship. She bounced on her toes, biting her lip to keep from letting out an impatient cry of frustration. They were approaching the atmosphere! Irena had said they were! He needed to—

“Got it!” The Doctor spun and leaped off the chair, flailing a bit and stumbling forward. He grinned. “I reset it back to factory settings, now it should inject new psychic sensors and link the rest of the ship—” He plopped back onto the chair and closed his eyes. “Alright you glorious Imagination Machine, do your thing.”

Irena frowned. “Doctor, I don’t think—”

“Oh, come on!” the Doctor burst out, looking up at the helmet which stubbornly refused to lower itself over its head. “All I need you to do is—”

“Doctor.” Irena’s voice was firm. “It only works on human brains.”

A pause. Another distant crash.

Rey stepped forward.

“No.” The Doctor’s voice was strained. “No, Rey, it’ll kill you. It was killing Mariana and he was only building it in pieces. You try to rebuild a whole ship at once…”

“Doctor.” Rey’s hand went her lightsaber. “If I’m the only one who can—”

He jumped to his feet. “No.” His hands planted on her shoulders. “I can’t let you do this, it’s too much for you—”

Her lightsaber shot out to the side, the blade sizzling. She narrowed her eyes. “Doctor, you _will_ let me do this.”

His eyes widened, and he stepped back, just slightly. She took the opportunity to shove her knee into his leg and run, pressing the button and turning off the lightsaber as she climbed into the chair. Setting her hands onto the arms, she closed her eyes.

Would it just activate? Just like that?

A whirring sound. And the helmet lowered itself over her face.

She tensed, bracing for the shot of pain in her temple. It came, exploding through her head in a white-hot burst, and she cried out with a sharp gasp. Then it faded as quickly as it came, and she was controlling the ship.

She sucked in a sharp breath. She was _controlling the ship._ She could see it all laid out before her like a map, see which sections were crumbling. She reached out to the farthest section, touching it gently with her mind. A hallway of metal beams overlaid with sturdy plastic. She squeezed her eyes shut and focused, imagining the exact layout of the beam, and then the wall.

It reformed itself, the metal reshaping and the plastic spreading up the wall as if it were liquid. It wasn’t perfect, but it was structurally sound again.

A little laugh escaped. She’d done it! She’d hooked herself into the ship and fixed the wall with her _mind!_ She moved down the hallway a bit more, the wall repairing itself like a shifting hologram in her mind. The repairs moved from the floor and up to the ceiling and soon she was moving down the entire hallway at once, envisioning and forming the repairs quickly and almost mechanically. She reached the end and turned a corner, picking up momentum as she went. She felt as if she were skidding on the tile floors as she repaired them, faster, faster, faster, until—

She slammed into an elevator.

She jerked back with a yelp. She needed to focus. She needed to focus on bigger things than hallways at the far end of the ship. Irena’s voice echoed in her mind. _If the engines go…_

She pulled back, zoomed out, and scanned through the schematic of the ship. There was _so much_ of it. Seven levels and one half-finished level, offices, hallways, computers, labs, living quarters. The weight of the psychic sensors seemed to slam into her as she tried to take it all in and she slumped back against the chair, gasping. She could feel the sensor in her brain throbbing out signals to every single sensor in the ship—thousands of them. It was too much for a single, tiny broadcaster to handle. How was it…?

Her fingers tightened on the arms of the chair as it hit her. It was drawing from her. It was drawing from her energy, from her life-force, from her own psychic signals, using it to broadcast to the entire ship. She drew in a ragged breath and tried not to think about it. All she had to do was fix the engines. Fix the core of the ship. And then…

And then what?

She squeezed her eyes shut and focused. She couldn’t think about that. Not now.

She zeroed in on the engine room and zoomed. She could nearly feel the massive engines vibrating, sputtering to stay alive. The shields had dropped, the electricity cut off to the outer extremities, and the engines were conserving their energy, focusing on keeping the ship hovering just outside the pull of Earth’s gravity. But she could feel the subtle tug, ready to set the S.S. Mariana on a downward spiral to the jewel-blue planet below. 

She took a deep breath. She needed to know how they worked so she could rebuild them. She scanned across their workings, seeing the schematics laid out like a hologram before her. Alright. Start with the core first…

Everything seemed to throb around her. She could do this. She had to do this. They would die—an entire shipful of people would die—if she didn’t. She focused on the core, laying out the schematics in her mind. Everything seemed to move in slow motion and she could feel the throbbing pulse of thousands of sensors, dragging her energy out like stretching putty. Blackness exploded in her mind and she slumped back with a gasp.

She had to do this. She had to. 

_She had to._

She forced herself to drag in a breath and focus again on the core engine. If she could just get the core fixed, surely it would be enough—white-hot pain throbbed against her temples, as if the sensors on the helmet had suddenly heated up and were burning into her brain. Slowly, slowly, she dived into the schematics, the images scraping against her brain like a grate against a raw wound. She felt the image twist, saw the repairs begin to move in the wrong direction.

For a moment she just stared at it, numbly.

No.

No.

People would die.

She forced Irena’s words into her mind again. _Flaming projectile. The equivalent of an atomic bomb._ She heard the screams, saw the explosion as if they were real. She couldn’t let that happen. She _couldn’t._

She bit her lip so hard it hurt, and clenched the edges of the chair until the metal bit into her palms. Pushing past the blinding pain, she send out one last signal. The final part re-formed itself, and snapped into place.

The core engine roared back into full capacity.

Blackness exploded in her mind. She reached blindly to claw at the helmet, unable even to gasp out a cry of pain. Her head slammed against something hard and then she was falling forward, the floor rushing up to greet her.

The last thing she heard before blackness washed over her was a muffled shout. 


	25. Part 2 Chapter 12

“Rey…Rey…”

The voice was blurred, fuzzing at the edges. The world twisted around her in strange, shifting patterns of color and noise and schematics, flashing through her mind like afterimages. She was floating, floating on something as soft and fluffy as a cloud.

She tried to force her eyes open, but white light exploded in front of them. She squeezed them shut again with a little groan.

“Rey…”

Something cool touched her and she started and pulled away. Her eyes popped open to a blinding flash.

White. She was floating in white, surrounded by white. Everything was horribly, blindingly white.

Something moved at the edge of her vision and she tried to turn, tried to get a look at the amorphous shape. It twisted in her vision and seemed to double then blur together again as she tried to force her eyes to focus. Something tall and dark hovered over her, like a streak of black against the floating white.

She let out a little cry and fumbled for a weapon.

The creature morphed itself into something human-like. A face leaned toward her and she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again.

He was blurry. But he was a person—he was—someone—

“D—oc—tor?” The word came out stilted and slurred and she licked her lips, swallowed, and tried again. “D—Doctor?”

“You’re awake!” Even through the throbbing blur, she could see the grin that spread across his face. She reached out, searching vaguely for his hand or—or something. Something to tell her he was real and not the floating, blurry creature she’d seen a moment ago. “Iria! Iria, she’s awake!” The dark streak that was the Doctor disappeared out of her vision, and she heard running footsteps.

Iria? Why did that name sound so familiar? 

Two blurred faces appeared in her vision again, one of them female, blonde hair pulled back in a long straight ponytail.

She blinked and looked again.

“Irena?”

“Rey.” Something cool touched her arm, and after a long moment, it registered that it was Irena’s hand. “Thank the Spires.”

Rey blinked and tried to look around again. White ceiling, white walls, and—she was laying in a bed of some kind, a blanket pulled up to her chest, the pillow fluffy-soft. Light filtered in through a window to her side, and she edged her head over to look.

Bright sunlight danced off of silver spires, which rose at varying lengths, some shooting toward the sky and some coming just to the level of the window. She squeezed her eyes shut, pain exploding in her head at the flashes of sunlight off metal. 

“Where am I?” she managed as the pain faded.

“You’re in the hospital ward on the Planet of Spires.” It was Irena who spoke, a cool hand still resting on Rey’s arm.

“Hospital?” Why was she…? “What happened?”

“You nearly killed yourself saving the Mariana,” Irena said.

Rey turned her head just slightly to look at Irena, who sat just on the edge of her vision. Pain exploded in her temples at the movement and she tensed, biting her lip hard.

“You’ll have a headache for a while yet.” Irena’s voice was clipped yet somehow kind. “We’ve got you on some painkillers and we want to keep you under observation for a bit to watch for any unexpected side effects.”

Rey closed her eyes and tried to remember. Saving the Mariana? Had she saved it? She remembered sitting in the giant metal chair, the helmet lowering over her head, and then…then what? Remembering made her headache worse.

She had saved it?

There it was—a flicker of something concrete. She had hooked herself into the Imagination Machine. She had…fixed the ship? She had fixed an entire ship? Was that even possible?

“You saved the S.S. Mariana!” She could hear the grin in the Doctor’s voice. “Would have collapsed if it wasn’t for you!”

She felt a frown twitching at her lips as she tried to think. He was right, wasn’t he? She had fixed it—somehow. She had saved it. She had _saved_ it?

“What happened to…”

“We have it in the repair wing,” Irena said, as if she were expecting the question. “We should have it back in working condition in a few days, and we’ve provided temporary lodging for all those aboard. We’ve decided to use it as an exploration ship.” A slight smile turned up her lips. “I’m to be commander.” 

“I got the whole psychic link problem fixed, too. Kinda had to, since it would have killed you.” Despite the casual cadence of the words, the Doctor’s voice had a serious, almost strained undertone. “Figured out how to disconnect it and all that.”

“And we brought you here the minute we landed.” Irena patted Rey gently on the shoulder. “Now, I’ll leave you two alone for now. Doctor,” her voice turned stern, “let her rest, and _please,_ do try not to overwhelm her with your enthusiasm right now.” 

The Doctor grinned and gave a mock salute. “Yes, Commander.” 

Rey heard a door click and just laid there for a moment. Then she reached out, searching for the Doctor’s hand again. Her fingers found his and she pulled it closer, a little absently. Things were making sense. They could make more sense once this headache went away…

She closed her eyes and let herself drift into blackness again.

* * *

“Doctor.” Commander Iria stepped out of the doorway of the S.S. Imagine, formerly the S.S. Mariana, and motioned for the Doctor and Rey to follow. “Come, I believe we owe you something.” 

Rey looped her arm through the Doctor’s. A barely-there underlying headache still throbbed beneath her thoughts and she found herself leaning a little too heavily on the Doctor as they followed the commander, but she was on her feet, and she could move without pain exploding in her head. 

She looked up at the Doctor, a grin twitching at her lips. He grinned back.

Irena—no, it was Iria, somehow Rey couldn’t get used to that—turned back with a slight smile. “Alright you two, you can be as sappy as you like once you’ve got your ship back.”

Oh, great. She still thought they were married.

At this point, it honestly wasn’t worth correcting her.

“Ship?” The Doctor’s eyebrows shot up. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

Irena turned a corner and opened a door. “I’m quite sure it does,” she said, and there was a smile in her voice. She stepped inside a small room, empty except for—

Rey’s eyes widened and she let out a little gasp.

The TARDIS sat behind the door, filling most of the small room with its bright blue bulk.

She glanced at the Doctor, and then they were both running forward, laughing. Rey wasn’t sure if she dragged him inside or if he dragged her inside but somehow they ended up throwing open the doors, and then they were standing inside the console room—that great big beloved console room that she had grown to love so well. She grinned, spun in a small circle, and then threw her arms around the Doctor, giggling.

He laughed. “What do you say to a nice, relaxing trip this time, Mrs. Smith?” His grin turned to a smirk, his eyes twinkling. “I think you deserve it.”

She wrinkled her nose at him and pretended to glare before laughing and turning to the console. “That sounds wonderful,” she said. “Have any ideas?”

“How about we try for random this time?” He leaned on arm against the console and casually flicked a lever. “Allons-y!” 

* * *

_The End_


End file.
